emergency repairs are taking place right now at the oroville dam to fix the emergency spillway. now on the verge of failure. meantime tens of thousands of people are still evacuated in case of catastrophic flooding from the tallest dam in the u.s. i'm natasha zouves. >> and i'm kristen zse. and we are expecting an abc news special report any minute for a joint news conference by president trump and prime minister justin trudeau. and we'll bring that to you on our app. but first to our top story, the emergency at the oroville dam. >> they are trying to shore up the dam spillways, 188,000

people were forced to evacuate this weekend. >> crews are out this morning surveying the damage. so look at these shots as they examine washed-out roads by the dam trying to get a handle on what to do next. >> we want to show you where this is all happening. on the far right is the actual dam. now move to the left and you see the original spillway damaged last week. >> and here is the emergency spillway that is in question now. it is quickly eroding, all of the water floating downstream toward the communities below. jenna norman has the latest. >> reporter: it is a race against time in northern california as water gushes from the oroville dam. >> i'm scared. i've never been in anything like this before. >> it holds water from lake oroville and last week millions of gallons of water poured from the dam each second creating a massive 300-foot wide hole.

>> this is a big deal. we're concerned that we manage this properly to protect the public down below. >> reporter: over the weekend they were forced to use the emergency spillway, the first time in the dam's 50-year history and then they discovered another problem. a second hole prompting evacuations. >> i came down from lakeside and i was surprised by all of the traffic and my neighborhood was basically empty and i panicked and started putting things in my car. >> reporter: nearly 200,000 people forced to leave their homes, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. emergency crews working around the clock to minimize the threat. and although officials say the lake levels have fallen, they are not in the clear just yet. >> there are still a lot of unknowns. we need to continue to lower the lake level. >> reporter: abc news, new york. >> we are just getting word that the state is holding a news conference at noon and we'll have an upclose-look at the damage this morning and watch it live on the abc 7 news news and

abc7news.com. and workers are filling up giant bags with boulders for the gaping holes in both spillways and to keep the situation from getting worse. here is rob mcmillan. >> reporter: it is something folks up here hasn't seen in a long time. california's second largest reservoir. and last night water was pouring over the top. this morning, a much better situation with the water levels slowly but steadily receding. but state officials say the emergency spillway is compromised and they are worried that if it fails, the consequences downstream might be catastrophic. so because of that, they are operating the main spillway at 100,000 cubic feet per second. now it is already severely damaged but state officials say with the emergency spillway also damaged, they don't have much of a choice. me need to get the water level down as soon as possible before

the next storms roll in. meantime, there is say lot of heavy equipment up here today. the plan is to take a lot of these boulders and place them in giant bags and then use helicopters to make drops. effectively shoring up the damaged emergency spillway. so far the water level up here at the lake has dropped about 5 feet. they are hoping it will drop close to 50 feet before the next wave of rain rolls in. reporting from lake oroville, rob mcmillan, now back to you. at first light sky 7 flew overhead giving us a closer look at the damage. jessica castro has what crews are facing now. jessica? >> reporter: the damage is incredible and a lot of it happened over the weekend. and i want to look at the dam itself and point out some things to you. this is the main spillway. this is the one where a hole opened up last week. and to left of that is where we see the back-up emergency spillway. that is just a hillside. but i want to show you a closer

look at the situation that they are dealing with. take a look here. now if we play this video, you could see that the main spillway, part of the wall broke off and now instead of a straight stream, it is kind of going haywire with water flowing where ever it wants. and i noticed possibly another part of the wall that will rip off with the water force breaking pieces off both sides. you see water there on both sides and so that could be a situation. then you have the issue of the emergency spillway that has severe erosion and that, frankly, is an ubd station because look at this, deep crevices and crews have to fill this in and also the hillside has reoded so much an entire -- has eroded so much that an entire road nearby the spillway is gone. damage is estated at $200 million but the lives at risk are the invaluable part and that is why nearly 200,000

people have fled their homes. and communities downstream are dealing with flooding already and they are next to the dam, and if anything, if that dam fails, these towns could be wiped out. kristen, back to you. >> those pictures really tell the story. thank you so much. this map gives you a better perspective of how many communities could be flooded if the spillways don't hold up. these are the 11 communities downstream. all under evacuation orders right now. more than 188,000 people are out of their homes. evacuation centers are open to help anyone who needs a place t near marysville. the oroville mayor said she understands the community frustration over the evacuations. the scene was chaotic this weekend as almost 200,000 people were forced to hit the road with little to no notice. a few days ago officials said the watt release pose nod threat and the mayor admitted while she is concernd, she is positive with the resources being provided to help. >> i am worried.

this was not something anybody could have predicted or expected. you call it the perfect storm. and it just couldn't be worse, but the department of water resources and the emergency services are working together to get us through this. >> the national guard has been called in, calling it a all hands on deck situation and airmen are on alert watching and rating for the next few crucial days to pass. fixing the problems will not come cheap. initial estimates were around $100 million to repair the main spillways but after saturday the number jumped to twice that amount. work on a perm innocent fix could not start until after release rain has ended and it is no longer necessary. they are considering a different spillway near the dam. >> how quickly could they build that. >> and evacuees are waiting to see if they have homes to return

to. >> mike nicco i tracking the timeline for this week's wet weather and the impact it could have. >> hi, everybody. let's start with the flash flood warning until 4:15 and downstream is shading in the green. hopefully everybody is gone by now. let me show you the four-day forecast for oroville. moderate rain on thursday and moderate to heavy rain on friday and lighter showers on saturday and sunday. when all is said and done and we get to sunday, nearly three to five inches of rain is going to fall. and that is going to mean a lot of rough-off into lake oroville. now if there is anything we learned from this back here at home, it is to always have your most sacred documents in a weather-proof case that you could grab quickly and your medicine. because they had absolutely no warning. so many in shelters with nothing but the clothes on their back. >> that is tough. thank you, mike. oroville is 150 miles northeast of san francisco. so what impact could the situation unfolding there have

here in the bay area? abc 7 news reporter matt keller is tracking the possible effects in santa clara county. matt? >> reporter: right now three of the ten reservoirs here in santa clara county are spilling over. but when i talk with people here with the water district, they told me they don't believe what is happening in oroville could happen here. what is happening in oroville is unprecedented and even shocking to some experts. >> something like this was uncanny. >> a manager for the engineering unit for dam safety at the santa clara valley water district. >> we never had this problem before. because we maintain our spillways well and inspect them on a regular basis and they are designed well. >> this is one of three above capacity in santa clara county with water spilling over. we haven't seen this in a while because of the massive drought but it is not as rare as you think. >> our dams are filled fairly often. for example, anderson is filled at least ten times in the last

70-odd years. >> reporter: but size does matter. lake oroville is the second larger in california with the capacity of more than 3537577 feet and with the capacity of just more than 169,000 acre feet in santa clara. they receive water from lake oroville as a contractor with the state water project. mercury news said the metropolitan water district of southern california and the state's department of water resources argued 12 years ago during the re-licensing -- >> now reporting.

>> george, the simple question is does the president still have confidence in his national security adviser. you asked that question directly of the senior policy adviser yesterday on this week. and others say the honest answer is they don't know. not simply because of the conversations with the russian ambassador, but because he misled the white house in what he said in the conversation including the vice president.

this is a big week. we have the visit with prime minister trudeau and netanyahu is here on wednesday and a chance for flynn to redeem himself or perhaps lose his job. >> there have been reports of other problems in the national security council. the president said on friday he would look into the questions about general flynn. almost certainly will get asked about it today an the president is meeting with prime minister nminister netanyahu of israel. and another topic could come up, the ballistic missile test on saturday and the president was having dinner with prime minister abe of japan. and i want to go to cecilia vega. reince priebus also faced some questions this weekend. >> reporter: george, he did. and direct questions about how he's doing behind the scenes. we're seeing leaks come out of the white house. a number in recent days as john was mentioning about michael online. another question that will be

certainly put to the president right now is what is happening with the executive order. whether they will take this directly to the supreme court or challenge this to lower courts but reince priebus told me directly on friday that all options are on the table for the white house but this is certainly an issue that will come up with prime minister trudeau. this is one where wes vocal in opposition to the executive order signed by the president, one where he said canada is a country that welcomes refugees so this is something that will come up here in this pros conference and both asked about whether this is a conversation had behind closed doors in the white house and george, we're seeing people file into the room. we saw steve bannon and jared kirschner and ivanka trump was in a closed-door meeting today with trudeau and other significant leaders and as we wait for them to file into the room, george. >> and the white house likely to pursue a two-track amendment to take care of some of the legal

problems they face in the courts and in the hopes they are still confident they would win -- have the supreme court uphold the ban but they would prefer to wait until they have neil gorsuch confirmed. this trump travel ban likely to be a key question for judge gorsuch in his supreme court confirmation up in the senate. last week he said he was demoralized by the president's attacks on judges and you come to the supreme court for a long time. and that was an attempt by the judge to distance himself a bit, undermined by the president. >> it sure was. and he wants to establish he is on board with the independent judiciary, independent from political pressures but in your interview this weekend with steven miller, it is clear the trump administration wants a full-on fight. he said, he reiterated the

position they had taken in the ninth circuit that the president's action in this area are beyond review. that will get the attention of all judges, especially someone like judge gorsuch. >> and the attorney general of washington, he said he can't wait because he wants to depose the administration officials and even left the door open to deposing president trump. >> that might be hard to get a president to subject to a court order to come and testify, it would cause major separation of powers and federalism issues. but we are in a brnd new world when it comes to this president in so many areas and in particular, as you interview demonstrated, in constitutional law. >> we are certainly facing that. only three weeks into the presidency so far. and the president had three weeks and a couple of days has been president, working mostly by executive order, executive action in these first three weeks as the congress begins to focus on obamacare and tax cuts as well. and here comes the prime minister of canada and president trump.

>> thank you. prime minister trudeau, on behalf of all americans, i thank you for being with us today. it is my honor to host such a great friend, neighbor and ally at the white house. a very special place. this year canada celebrates the 150th year of confederation. for americans, this is one of the many milestones in our friendship and we look forward, very much forward, i must wsay, to many more to come. our two nations share much more than a border. we share the same values, we share the love and the truly great love of freedom and we share a collective defense.

american and canadian troops have gone to battle together and won wars together and forged the special bonds that come when two nations have shed their blood together, which we have. in these dangerous times, it is more important than ever that we continue to strengthen our vital alliance. the united states is deeply grateful for canada's contribution to the counter-isis effort. thank you. now we continue to work in common and in common cause against terrorism and work in common cooperation toward reciprocal trade and shared growth. we understand that both of our countries are stronger when we join forced in matters of international commerce. having more jobs and trade right here in north america is better for both the united states and is also much better for canada.

we should coordinate closely and we will coordinate closely to protect jobs in our hemisphere and keep wealth on our continent and to keep everyone safe. prime minister, i pledge to work with you in pursuit of our many shared interests. this includes a stronger trading relationship between the united states and canada. it includes safe, efficient and responsible cross-border travel and migration. and it includes close partnership on domestic and international security. america is deeply fortunate to have a neighbor like canada. we have before us the opportunity to build even more bridges, and bridges of cooperation and bridges of commerce. both of us are committed to bringing greater prosperity and

opportunity to our people. we just had a very productive meeting. with women business leaders from the united states and canada, where we discussed how to secure everything that we know the full power of women can do better than anybody else. we know that. i just want to say, mr. prime minister, that i'm focused and you're focused on the important role women play in our economies. we must work to address the barriers faced by women and women entrepreneurs, including access to capital, access to markets and very importantly access to networks. in our discussion today, we will focus on improving the ways our government and our governments together can benefit citizens of

both the united states and canada. and in so doing, advance the greater peace and stability of the world. mr. prime minister, i look forward to working closely with you to build upon our very historic friendship. there are incredible possibilities for us to pursue. canada and the united states together. again, thank you for joining us and i know our discussions will be very, very productive for the future of both countries, mr. prime minister. >> thank you, mr. president. good afternoon, everyone. thank you very much for joining us. i would first like to start by extending my sincere thanks to president trump for inviting me down to washington. any day i get to visit our southern neighbors, it nice and warm compared to what it is back

home. we are suffering under a significant winter storm hitting our atlanta provinces particularly harsh so i want to send everyone back at home my thoughts as they shovel out and impress on everyone to stay safe. >> translator: the president and myself have had a very productive first meeting today. we had the opportunity to get to know one another better and more importantly we had the opportunity to talk about the unique relationship between canada and the united states. >> on both sides of the 49th parallel have understood that the bond between our nations is a special one. no other nations in the entire world are as fundamentally linked as we are. we fought in conflict zones together, negotiated environmental treaties together, including 1991s historic air quality agreement. and we've entered into ground-breaking economic partnerships that have created good jobs for both of our

peoples. canadians and americans alike share a common history as well as people-to-people ties that make us completely and totally ibts grated. our workers are connected by trade, transportation and cross border commerce. our communities rely on each other for security, stability and economic prosperity. our families have long lived together, and worked together. we know that more often than not, our victories are shared. and just as we celebrate together, so, too, do we suffer loss and heart break together. through it all, the foundational pillar upon which our relationship is built is one of mutual respect. and that is a good thing. because as we know, relationships between neighbors are pretty complex. and we won't always agree on everything. but because of our deep abiding respect for one another, we're able to successfully navigate

those complexities and still remain the closest of allies and friends. make no mistake, at the end of the day, canada and the u.s. will always remain each other's most essential partner. and today's conversations have served to reinforce how important that is for both canadians and americans. as we know, 35 u.s. states list canada as their largest export market and our economies benefit from the over$2 billion in two-way trade that takes place every single day. millions of good, middle-class jobs on both sides of the border depend on this crucial partnership. maintaining strong economic ties is vital to our mutual success and we're going to continue to work closely together over the coming years so that canadian and american families can get

ahead. >> translator: as we know, 35 u.s. states list canada as the largest export market. economies benefit from the over $2 billion in two-way trade that takes place every single day. millions of good, middle class jobs on both sides of the border depend on this crucial partnership. we maintain strong economic ties vital to our mutual success and we'll continue to work closely together over the coming years so that canadian and american families can get ahead. >> president trump and i discussed today. at the end of the day, the president and i share a common goal. we both want to make sure that hard-working folks can go to work at a good job, put food on the table for their families, and save up to take a vacation every once in a while.

that is what we're trying to do here. today we reiterated that our nations are committed to collaborating on energy infrastructure projects that will create jobs, while respecting the environment. and as we know, investing in infrastructure is a great way to create the kind of economic growth that our countries so desperately need. and in that same vain, we know that ensuring equal opportunities for women in the work force is essential for growing the economy and maintaining american and canadian competitiveness on the world stage. as such, the president and i have agreed to the creation of the canadian-united states counsel for advancement of women entrepreneurs and business leaders. this initiative is more than just about dollars and cents, this is about ensuring that women have access to the same opportunities as men and prioritizing the support and empowerment of women who are senior business leaders and entrepreneurs n. doing so, we'll

grow the american and canadian economies and help our businesses prosper. >> translator: president trump myself and i have agreed to fight together on the rise of opioids across our border. the rise of opioids in our society is nothing less than a tragedy. we will go everything we can to ensure the safety of canadians and americans. ladies and gentlemen, president trump, i know that if our countries continue to work together, our people will greatly benefit from this cooperation. >> and time and again that in order to tackle our most pressing issues both foreign and domestic, we must work with our closest allies, learn from each other and stand in solidarity as a united voice. with a level of economic and social integration that is

unmatched on the world stage, canada and the united states will forever be a model example of how to be good neighbors. winston churchill once said that long canadian frontier from the atlanta to the pacific oceans guarded only by neighborly respect and honorable obligations is an example to every country and a pattern for the future of the world. that, my friends, is the very essence of the canada-u.s. relationship. i look forward to working with president trump over the coming years to nurture and build upon this historic partnership. once again, it's a tremendous pleasure to be here in washington. >> translator: thank you very much. >> okay. we'll take a couple of questions. scott. >> thank you mr. president.

we just spoke about the desire to build bridges. although there are notable and philosophical differences between yourself and prime minister trudeau. i'm curious as you move forward on issues from trade to terrorism how do you see this relationship playing out and are there specific areas during which your conversations today you decided to alter or amend your stances already on those sensitive issues like terrorism and immigration and prime minister trudeau, while only in its infancy, how do you see this relationship compared to that under the obama administration. >> well, we just began discussions, we are going to have a great relationship with canada. maybe as good or better, hopefully, than ever before. we have wonderful ideas on immigration. we have some very strong and tough ideas on the tremendous problem that we have with terrorism. and i think when we put them altogether, which will be very quickly, we'll have a group of very talented people, we'll see

some very, very obvious results. we're also doing some cross-border things that will make it a lot easier for trade and a lot better and faster for trade. we have through technology, we have some really great ideas and they'll be implemented fairly quickly. >> one of the things we spoke about was the fact that security and immigration need to work very well together and certainly canada has emphasized security as we look towards improving our immigration system and remaining true to the values that we have and we had a very strong and fruitful discussion on exactly that. there is plenty that we can draw on each other from in terms of how we move forward with a very similar goal, which is to create preopen societies that keep our citizens safe and that is certainly something that we're very much in agreement on.

>> good afternoon, mr. president, mr. prime minister and mr. prime minister could you answer in english and french for us, please. and a follow-on on my colleague's question. please trump, you suggest that syrian refugees are a trojan horse for potential terrorism while the prime minister hugs refugee and welcomes them with open arms so i would like to know you are confident the northern border is secure. >> can never be totally confident. but through the incredible efforts already it is happening. if only general kelly and secretary kelly -- and we have really done a great job. we're actually taking people that are criminals very, very hardened criminals in some cases, with -- with a tremendous track record of abuse and problems and we're