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tv   ABC7 News 400PM  ABC  February 13, 2017 4:00pm-5:01pm PST

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rocks to drop into where the massive hole is. we have been told that evacuations are still in place for this area. the evacuations spreading about 40 miles wide. and then also affecting about 200,000 people here. of course, many people hoping that the officials' plan to fix this problem has worked. it's never happened before. the wreaking havoc on those below. >> we are still trying to assess the damage. >> reporter: sunday more than 180,000 people told to evacuate. >> we are almost out of gas. >> reporter: stuck in bunk
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bumper-to-bumper traffic as they try to leave. >> i'm scared because i have never been in anything like this before. >> reporter: last week a nearly 230-foot-long hole was created after chunks came out of the major spillway. >> a plan is in place which will hopefully plug that hole. that would include using helicopters to drop bags of rock into the crevice and prevent any further erosion. >> reporter: for the first time, officials are forced to use the emergency spillway. then finding a second hole causing evacuations. officials now say the water levels are dropping but the threat is still there. and a little bit of good news is that the water levels have dropped. we are told they are dropping at 4 inches per hour. as you can see behind me, that water rushing through that spillway with a force so strong
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that it actually looks like there's a mist in the air. reporting live from oroville, california, danya bakas, abc news. >> any idea when the evacuation orders will be lifted? >> reporter: officials are saying right now, they are actually putting a plan in place to lift the evacuation orders. but there's still a threat of flood damage. so they are not letting anybody back into their homes as of yet. >> danya, thank you for that live report. all this began on tuesday when engineers found the massive hole we showed you in the main spillway and giant chunks of concrete at the bottom. well, by wednesday the hole was as big as a football field. state officials say the damage could approach $100 million. they started clearing and reinforcing the emergency spillway in case it was needed. saturday morning water began flowing over the emergency spillway, which is just nearby, for the first time in the nearly 50-year history. there you can see the relative
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position of the emergency spillway. late yesterday evacuations were ordered for several downstream communities. the bay area emergency crews are responding to the flooding threat. oakland firefighters sent this tweet today showing members of the fire department scouting the oroville dam and spillway. last night abc 7 news was in menlo park where they left for a staging area in chico where they are on standby. 14 members joined 12 other units from across the state. the alameda county sheriff's office is also lending a hand. sky 7 was in dublin above the santa rita jail where inmates arrived in butte county this morning. a total of 570 inmates are here now. chp provided an escort for the school buses used to move the inmates. sky 7 flew over the oroville dam today to give us a better look and a deeper understanding of the damage and ramifications. >> abc 7 news anchor kristen sze is here with more on that. >> reporter: dan, sky 7 is really helping us understand
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what is really going on here at the oroville dam. i'm going to pause it for you so we can talk about the aspects of this. this right here, that is the dam. that part, as you heard, is fine. this right here, that is the lake, the body of water. and when it gets too full, what they usually do is release the water into the main spillway. that is this one right there made of concrete. it is supposed to look like a water slide, but look at that, it looks like a water fall right now because of that gaping hole that opened up last week. and that, of course, forced officials to start releasing water over here. that is the auxillary or emergency spillway. here's a closer look at the main spillway. this is where part of the wall broke off last week. so instead of a straight stream, you can see water is just going off in all different directions right now. and look what else we spotted, another part of the wall looks to be opening up with the force of the water.
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again, i'm going to pause this so you can take a closer look. let's bring that video back. it's a little temperamental, but you see that? that breach right there, if that is not fixed soon, that can grow to be a bigger problem. now, let's take a look at what else we spotted. this is the badly eroded emergency spillway. it is so bad there, i'm going to pause that for you, see this? this is a road sign. but what do you not see? that's right, roads. because the access roads have just been washed away. that's how bad it is. and crews are going to have to fill in the gaping holes right there in the hillside. if more of it erodes, the concrete wall that the water pours over could collapse leading to catastrophic flooding. the cost could be astro mom that in -- astronomical.
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dan and ama? kristen, thank you. a uc berkeley professor says this is a wake-up call not only for those evacuated but for the entire country. >> i think this is a very critical infrastructure issue that presumably, possibly, will have to be done on the california scale and on the national level. >> nicholas satar says this oroville dam very important because it provides water to the farming community. and this could affect every californian. the plan to dump rocks into the crater in the main spillway to fill it may do little to help if the rock is not reinforced. local officials are taking a look at the safety of reservoirs in the bay area. matt kellar is here with the key decision that local officials participated in 12 years ago and may have prevented this crisis. >> reporter: what is happening in oroville is unprecedented and
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shocking to some experts. >> something like this was uncanny. >> reporter: this is a manager for the dam safety at the santa clara water district. >> we have never had this kind of a problem before. i think it is because we maintain our spillways and inspect them on a regular basis and they are designed fairly well. >> reporter: lexington reservoir is one of three above capacity right now in santa clara county with water spilling over. we have not seen this in a while because of the massive drought, but it is not as rare as you think. >> there are dams that spill fairly often, for example, anderson has spilled ten times in the last 70 years. >> reporter: lake oroville has a capacity of 3,537,577 feet. with the capacity of just more than 169,000 in santa clara reservoir.
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santa clara receives water from oroville as part of a project. that group along with the metropolitan water district of california and the state's department of water resources argued 12 years ago during the reliancing process that oroville dam's emergency spillway did not need to be armored with concrete. those agencies would have needed to pay for the upgrades. at that time three environmentalist groups said if it was left alone as a hillside, it could lead to a failure. while lexington spilled, so do the reservoirs across santa clara county. five of the ten are over capacity with the possibility of more rain coming next week. at lexington reservoir, matt kellar, abc 7 news. more evacuations today but these aren't related to the oroville dam. sacramento county officials alerted those on tyler island to evacuate because of the compromised levee. and those in walnut grove are urged to prepare for possible flooding. here's a look at the problem, sky 7 was over the north fork
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mccullen river levee. workers are piling rocks at the weakened point to shore it up. the current evacuations affect about 20 homes in the area. well, none of this is over yet either. more rain is on the way. >> spencer christian is here with a look at what is still ahead. spencer? >> more rain is on the way to the bay area and to the oroville area. here's a close-up looking at live doppler 7. we have dry conditions but rain is coming later this week. so let me take you down to the oroville area, the area of a flash flood warning in effect until 4:15 tomorrow afternoon. and over the next several days beginning on thursday, there will be three storms moving through the area. the first one arrives thursday morning. that will be followed by another storm beginning on friday afternoon. and yet a third storm coming in on sunday morning. so not one of these storms is expected to produce heavy rainfall, but the cumulative effect may elevate concerns for flooding as it's possible up to three inches of rain could fall
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over that four-day period in the area of the oroville dam. we'll keep an eye on that and have a look at the accuweather seven-day forecast in the bay area in a few minutes. spencer, thanks very much. >> it started as a road rage argument last night and ended with one man shot dead behind the wheel of his suv in san leandro. >> kate larson is live at the scene of the shooting where she's speakig with investigators about what happened. kate? >> reporter: dan, ama, police have not identified the man who was shot and killed here last night. but we do know that he was in his 40s and was likely with his family in his suv driving down this street when he was shot. i've also spoken to detectives who have been out here in this industrial area going from business to business looking for surveillance video that might explain what happened during this road rage argument. last night around 9:45 here on marina boulevard two blocks from i-88 in san leandro, someone
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shot a man driving an suv with a woman and two small children inside. >> the woman whose identifying herself as his wife slid over in the driver, against the victim himself, and operated the vehicle and drove the vehicle from the shooting scene over to kaiser. >> reporter: police say the woman knew that san leandro kaiser was close. once she got to the hospital, she screamed for help in the parking lot. but it was too hellate. the victim died. the police blamed road rage. her husband got in an argument with another driver who opened fire while they were both moving. >> you don't know who these people are that you're getting in an argument with. and you don't know whether or not these people could be armed. and you don't know what their intentions are. >> it's awful. yeah, i couldn't believe it. >> reporter: diana lopez and her husband owned a business at marina boulevard and verna court for more than a decade. they are under construction now,
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but lopez says because of the shooting just yards from their office. they will hook up security cameras as soon as possible. >> once we complete the construction, we'll have a lot more of employees in the warehouse. so it's a big concern. >> reporter: fortunately, the woman and those two children who are 5 years old and under 1 year old are physically okay. detectives say they are looking into motives beyond just road rage and hope that someone in this very busy area might have seen something and can contact them. live in san leandro, kate larsen, abc 7 news. thank you so much. >> damage to the bay area roads has been a big problem for drivers for a long time, from potholes to sinkholes, the seriously damaged roadway is still closed around the bay area and repairs are underway right now. and the cleaning up after the storms, the debris piling up and what is being done to trash it all. plus -- >> the workmanship they put up 90 years ago needs to stand up
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to the test of time. >> improvements to the water system are nearly finished now. we'll take you inside the tunnel and the work being done there on this at at&t, we believe in access. the opportunity for everyone to explore a digital world.
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caltrans tweeted out this picture of the unbelievable challenges being faced this winter. we brought you live coverage of this on friday. the road is still closed and no update on when it will reopen. drivers on 117 are still dealing with lane closure. one lane is open in each
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direction between granite creek road in scotts valley and the santa clara county line. both sides of the highway were shut down on vine hill road on saturday because caltrans was afraid there would be another mud slide. a construction worker was cleared last week clearing a slide in the area. caltrans needs to stabilize the hill before highway 117 can fully reopen. crews are racing against the clock to make storm-remitted repairs before another round of wet weather moves in. amy hollyfield looks at work underway already in the east bay. >> reporter: don't adjust your tv, that's just the shaking from hitting a pothole. a common occurrence around the bay area because of all the rain. >> i hit one and i have a fairly new car and i don't want to hit anything. so we want to keep the car nice, you know, you're doing a zig-zag down the street. >> reporter: danville officials made a list on friday of all the potholes around town. taking advantage of today's dry
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weather to patch them. >> we have crews going around the entire area filling probably in the range of 30 to 40 potholes throughout town. >> reporter: to some residents it feels like some popped up over the weekend. >> there's a lot more this morning i noticed. i didn't go down sycamore yesterday, but a lot more today than in the past. >> reporter: since they have a few days of dry weather, they can do a more permanent fix. during the rain, they can only do a cold mix of asphalt. that doesn't last very long. >> what is going on now is a hot mix, it's a higher grade, it's stronger. it will be a more of a dig-out to really address the issue and it is much more of a permanent solution. >> reporter: they're not only working on city streets, they are also repaving a beaten up section of the park and ride parking lot. they hope to finish up today, they will paint stripes tomorrow and have it all done right before the next rainstorm rolls through here, which they're hoping won't bring them more potholes. in danville, amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. >> we'll see, right? last week's storms did much
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more than knock down trees and cause mudslides. the strong wind also sent a lot of debris into the bay. peter rupert is in charge of cleaning it up. this is just some of the stuff he collected at the belvedere lagoon. look at this, there are kayaks, paddle boards, lounge chairs, garbage cans that weren't tied down correctly. the debris isn't just unsightly, though, it can clog up the water drains. >> these items get into our tie gates or the pipes and we can actually lose ability to evacuate water. >> debris in the bay can also clog up and damage propulsion jets on passenger ferries as well, so it is serious. ace train riders need to find a new way to work tomorrow. crews shut down service today and tomorrow because of damage and debris on the tracks caused by all the storms. union pacific says it also is facing similar problems across the network forcing it to reroute trains while it works to restore service to normal
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operations. still, the effects linger, right? absolutely. we are only getting a brief little respite from the rain. >> more is coming, spencer? >> brief, but enjoy it. it's been nice and mild, but it is brief. here's a look at live doppler 7. we have high clouds around the bay area, but it's a bright and sunny afternoon. and it has just been lovely. but we probably will have another day or day and a half of this loveliness. here's the view from our tower camera looking over san francisco under bright skies. it's 60 degrees here in the city right now. 63 across the bay in oakland. mountain view, 59. low 60s at san jose and gilroy. and 55 at half-moon bay. lovely view of the western sky here. and sun reflecting off the bay waters from the east bay hills camera. mid-60s in napa and novato. fairfield and concord at 62. these are the forecast features, it will be dry and mild the next two days. rain returns on thursday. and we'll have wed, unsettled weather through the weekend and
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into early next week. for tonight we'll see just a few areas of high clouds and some patchy fog developing overnight. low temperatures will be mainly in the low to mid-40s. and tomorrow, valentine's day, a day you have to love. it will tug at your heart strings. we'll have sunny skies through the daytime hours. it will be mild once again. and into the evening, we'll have clear skies and just lovely valentine's day weather. okay, our next storm comes in on thursday. it will rank one on the impact score. that means it will produce light to moderate rainfall. it will be breezy but we won't have damaging winds with this storm. but flood concerns remain nonetheless. here's the forecast tomorrow starting late wednesday night. rain will arrive in the north bay but most of the bay area won't be wet until thursday morning. and this storm moves through rather quickly and widens down thursday night followed by yet another system coming in on friday afternoon. so we have some wet weather coming our way later in the week. and here is the accuweather seven-day forecast. happy valentine's day tomorrow.
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we've got some mild and lovely weather in store. that will last through wednesday. but once again, clouds increase on wednesday. so we have the storm coming in thursday, ranking one on the impact scale, followed by storms every single day for the next five days, ranking one on the storm impact scale. as i mentioned earlier, not one will be a heavy storm, the cumulative effect of all the rain over such a short period will, of course, elevate flooding concerns. >> on top of what we've had, exactly. thank you, spencer. ♪ it was a big night at the graummys for singer adele. and this one
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grammy awards? ♪ >> reporter: adele may have been the bell of the ball. >> the lemonade album was just so monumental, beyonce. so monumental. i had to say that because i felt like she was more worthy. that's pretty much it, really. >> reporter: adele's night was not perfect. the singer asked for a do-over in her tribute to george michael. beyonce won two grammies including best urban contemporary album and also blew up social media after a stirring flower-filled nine-minute performance. ♪
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people were speculating if the show would be politically charged. and there were a few moments both on the red carpet and on stage. ♪ this is the best and with president trump we don't know what comes next ♪ >> at this particular point in history, our voices are needed more than ever. >> reporter: ckaty perry dawned an arm band that spelled "resist" in front of the words of the constitution. but the strongest words came from another number. >> i want to thank president oran orange. ♪ we come together we the people we the people ♪ >> that was from a tribe called quest joined by busta rhymes. and then hashtags came out
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#standwithgavin. george pinochio for abc 7 news. coming up, you can watch the oscars with jimmy kill mem on sunday, february 26. check out the complete list of the nominee. well, nearly 200,000 on the run and on the edge. >> the new incredible pictures of damage at the oroville dam and what is next for the evacuees. plus -- >> we're going to have a great relationship can with canada, hopefully as good or better than ever before. >> president trump kicks off the week with
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game night is our daughter allie's favorite night. and knowing that her favorite general mills big g cereals are gluten-free, like honey nut cheerios, rice chex and lucky charms, she can enjoy it her way. try new very berry cheerios. the taste of real fruit in every bite. so berry good.
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and here are the stories making news at 4:30. nearly 100,000 people will be not allowed back in their homes until the erosion is fixed. the spillway was being used to
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reduce water at the reservoir. lieutenant governor gavin newsom tweeted a photo today by the state's head of emergency operations and the national guard. he said this is a wake-up call and warned us that the dam has similar problems. cal-fire tweeted a thanks to everyone in butte and sumner counties who took the evacuation seriously. thousands are at hotels throughout northern california or are staying with family and friends. right now there's no timetable for when the erosion will be fixed or when evacuees will return home. caroline tyler is joining us where a large contingent of evacuees are waiting for the all-clear. carolyn? >> reporter: the front desk says they have a number of evacuees staying here. we met a family from grandparents to babies, 40 in
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all, that left and booked rooms here. they are staying in a hotel, but it's not a vacation. this family fled from uvah city last night when they got word of the spillway at the oroville dam. >> knowing that your home and the livelihood, you have to leave it behind. it is just very, very overwhelming. >> reporter: in all, 40 members of this extended family are now waiting it out at this hotel in fairfield. they say unlike the chaotic exodus of bumper-to-bumper traffic, many evacuees endured that last night, their drive was smooth because someone who works at the dam gave them a heads-up before the mandatory order to get out. still, leaving was not drama-free, especially for the children. >> he was crying and i was crying. >> i just grabbed my laptop and just started shoving clothes in suitcases and i started to pack. that's when it really hit, like, okay, this is happening. so then, like, that is why i was
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frantically running all over the house panicking. >> reporter: there's no word when this family or the thousands and thousands of others will be allowed back home. >> this is still a dynamic situation. it's still a situation we are trying to assess. >> reporter: for these cousins it's been surreal. >> the typical thing for uma city is that it is a boring place. it felt like of situation. caroline tyler, abc news. this just gives you a perspective could be flooded with the spillway.
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more than 100,000 people are out of their homes. now we are getting a good look at the damage of the spillway. check this out, you can see crews assessing the damage there. here's how they look side by side so you can check out the difference. look at that. it's amazing. >> it really is. and now stay with abc 7 news for the very latest to then rapidly developing story. download the abc 7 news app and enable push alerts for breaking news updates. san francisco may not be in danger of flooding from a dam, but there is a danger of tsunamis. the mass evacuation near oroville, evacuations are prompting officials to remind people about what to do in case of a tsunami. they can flood coastal areas. tsunami signs are posted along the coast of the ocean and the bayside. others warn the safest
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evacuation routes. the city will send out sirens if there's a tsunami risk, but residents should also know the warning signs. >> if you're on the beach, you hear -- you feel an earthquake, it shakes for more than 20 seconds, you hear a loud roar and the water starts to recede. get inland and move to higher ground. >> san francisco residents can visit sf72.org to find out if they live in a tsunami danger zone. >> reporter: the norcal guidelines are up to help develop an emergency plan for your family. just go to abc7news.com. president trump hosted the canadian prime minister at the white house today. the two leaders have been very vocal about their different views on immigration and refugees. abc news reporter kenneth molden now is in washington. >> reporter: president trump and canadian prime minister justin trudeau. the leaders are talking trade,
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jobs and immigration. >> we are going to have a great relationship with canada, maybe as good or better than ever before. >> reporter: trump and trudeau starkly different policies on refugees. sources tell abc news the president plans to sign an executive order this week on immigration. it will continue to depend his first one banning immigrants from seven predominantly muslim countries. >> the last thing canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture themselves. >> reporter: they announced a new task force next to the prime minister. >> as we think about how we level the playing field for this generation and for the next, thank you for being here. >> reporter: on the national security front, the president's national security adviser michael flynn is still under fire for contradictory statements about conversations with russia in december.
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members of congress are questioning whether flynn brought up the obama administration sanctions against russia. >> if the president still has confidence in general flynn, that will be okay with me, but the one thing his national security adviser has to remember is people have to believe what you say. >> reporter: congressional democrats are calling for flynn to be investigated and fired. but the white house counselor to the president, kellyanne conway says that flip has confidence of the president. and steven mnuchin spent 17 years at goldman sachs and became ceo of one west bank and oversaw the government subsidize foreclosures of several homes. critics dubbed him the foreclosure king as treasury secretary, mnuchin will oversee financial regulation and tax reform. a defeat in court today for native americans trying to stop construction of a disputed section of the dakota access oil pipeline. a from judge rejected a request
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for a temporary restraining order filed by the cheyenne river and standing rock sioux tribes. the ruling allows dallas-based energy transfer partners to continue drilling in order to complete the final stretch of the pipeline beneath the missouri river in north dakota. a surprising arrest, the adult son of contributed child molester jerry sandusky has been arrested. plus, fights canceled, roads closed, the fallout from another big storm that pounded the northeast. i'm michael finney. i'll answer your questions on twitter and facebook. just post it to #askfinney and i'll answer your questions in a minute. we are looking at bright skies and mild conditions in the bay area, but things will change later this week. i'll hav
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this is violet. she's been waiting for this moment for awhile. a moment other kids wouldn't think twice about. her first bowl of cheerios. because now that cheerios are gluten free, violet, and many others are enjoying their first bowl today.
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prosecutors today charged 41-year-old jeffrey sandusky with 14 counts including criminal solicitation and corruption of minors. reports say the investigation began last november when a child told police he had received text messages from sandusky including some that asks for naked photos. sandusky's father former penn state coach jerry sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing ten boys.
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people in the northeast are dealing with more than two feet of snow after the second biggest storm in four days. take a look at the time lapse video from portland, maine. look at all the snow. some parts have seen 25 inches of snow. all government offices were closed today. more than 130 flights were canceled. one weather-related death was reported in pennsylvania. this storm came on the heels of another storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in some areas last week. >> i'll take the bay area rain over new england snow anytime. here's a look at live doppler 7. we have bright and dry conditions in the bay area, but midweek things will change. we have a storm coming our way thursday morning. it will rank one on the storm impact scale. a storm of light intensity producing light to moderate rainfall with breezy conditions. still flooding will be a concern as our soils are saturated. we are projecting rainfall totals from the thursday storm to range from a third of an inch to an inch or more in parts of the north bay. a pretty wide range total
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expected from that system. and more rain will follow that. our major concerns on thursday from the storm, hydroplaning on highways is a moderate concern, as well as a moderate concern about urban and creek flooding. lower concerns about downed trees, power outrages and river flooding. here's a look at the accuweather seven-day forecast. we have several days of rain coming our way. once we get past wednesday, each the days, thursday, friday, saturday and sunday and monday, the storm ranked one on the level. tomorrow is valentine's day. happy valentine's day. thank you, spencer. >> all right, stay with us. cracks are showing up at another major water source in california. >> and while they look, they look big, structurally the tunnel is perfectly sound. >> big indeed. the repairs willing done to a tunnel built decades ago and how the work could be affecting the water you drink.
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and i'm 7 on your side michael finney. you have seen the clothing tags that say wash before you wear. what's the reason behind that? we'll talk about that next in ask finney. and we are using our abc 7 news instagram feed to celebrate the people making a difference where you live. today we are recognizing san francisco-based code 2040 that welcomes dozens of black and latino computer science students to the bay area every summer for the ten-week fellows program. we have more information on our abc 7 news bay area instagram feed. please check that out when you have a moment. st (announcer vo) when you have type 2 diabetes, there's a moment of truth. and now with victoza® a better moment of proof. victoza® lowers my a1c and blood sugar better than the leading branded pill, which didn't get me to my goal. lowers my a1c better than the leading branded injectable.
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so, stop taking victoza® and call your doctor right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area. tell your doctor your medical history. taking victoza® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. the most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. side effects can lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. now's the time for a better moment of proof. ask your doctor about victoza®.
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the source of water has been cut off for 2.6 million people. abc 7 news is the only tv station that went inside to show you exactly what is going on. >> reporter: it's loud, cold and wet inside this stretch of aging pipeline in the high sierra. it opened in 1925. the mountain tunnel near yosemite is an i didn't call
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intrical part of the water system. >> while they look big, structually the tunnel is perfectly sound. >> reporter: structural engineer glenn boise has been walking this tunnel inch by inch looking for cracks or defects. >> on every thousand-foot interval, some of them have about 20 defects, which basically averages out about 1 every 50 feet. >> the san francisco public utilities committee has known since the late '80s that it needed prepares. in fact, they had to drain the entire reservoir to get to it. >> we would be under water by now. >> reporter: typically they get 20 years to inspect the tunnel. this time they get 90 days to make repairs. and they are enlarging repairs
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to prevent future repairs. this tunnel turned out much larger than expect. samples show that the builders used more concrete that was planned for. >> on the plan it said minimum of 6 inches. but on a core sample it says 18 inches. >> reporter: the system of pipes, dams and reservoirs carries water 167 miles from yosemite national park and into the south bay before going up the peninsula to san francisco. despite its age, it continues to impress. >> this is amazing the workmanship they put in place 90 years ago to have it stand up to the test of time. >> well, work on the tunnel will wrap up next week. and the water will be turned back on march 7th. it is time now for ask finney. 7 on your side's michael finney is back in the studio. we love seeing you after your event on friday. he's answering questions on facebook and twitter. the first one is from vera, when
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i purchase new clothing, it sometimes comes with a tag stating to wash before wearing. why? what is wrong with the material? >> that is a great question. i'm really glad you asked it. here's what to do, always put new clothes through a wash or hot/dry cycle before you wear them. even if there's not a label instructing you to do so. why? well, the material could be contaminated with chemicals like heavy metals and pesticides and dyes that could irritate your skin or cause other health issues. clothes purchased from a store where others have tried them on. they could also be contaminated with respiratory secretions, skin, all that kind of stuff. i know, it's gross. hepatitis, salmonella, yeast infections. lice could also be transmitted this way. it's not likely but it is possible. so always wash your clothes before you put them on. >> that's good to know. virginia asks, when is the best time to buy airline tickets?
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>> this is changing all the time. i've got to tell you, the stats change a little bit. but here's what we know right now, the best time to buy airline tickets is at noon pacific time on tuesdays and wednesdays. if you can purchase your ticket between 40 and 60 days in advance of your trip, that will help you with the cost as well. for extra savings, book your flights for midweek, in terms of tuesday, wednesday or thursday. other good days to travel, saturday or sunday, monday and friday are the worst. good luck trying to get a good deal. >> bob from walnut creek asks, i have a problem with an airline voucher. i'm trying to get a refund and haven't yet. what can i do? >> hey, bob. this is a problem that comes up occasionally. call us if you need to, but if you were told you were supposed to get an airline voucher or refund and up didn't, i want you to call the airline direct, explain what you were told and go, what's up? now, if they still don't help you out, please call my hotline here at 7 on your side. we are open monday through
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friday, 10:00 to 2:00, 954-8151. and you can also ask me through facebook and the web pages. >> michael, thank you so much. well, big changes are coming to a taxi service in dubai in the coming months. ready for this? officials in the city state hope to have a passenger carrying-drone regularly buzzing through its skyline by july. the chinese-made aircraft is capable of carrying a passenger weighing 220 pounds as well as a small suitcase. once the passenger is stopped in, they select the destination and the zone zips them there automatically. we got a good look at this at the consumer electronics show in las vegas last year. there it is. the future of nasa's mars program is taking shape. the agency narrowed the list of potential landing sites for the 2020 rover from eight to three. the final decision is due a year or two before a launch. the rover will scoop up martian rock and soil in the hope of one day returning them to earth to be studied.
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as of now, the only mars rocks are meteorites that reach earth stripped of their geological context. thousands of people ran a marathon for a good cause over the weekend. one was the los angeles county sheriff sheila nunez. she remembered fallen armed force members and first responders. she was also helping a colleague fighting leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. >> having leukemia is one of the worst things you can have. i'm proud of them for their struggles. this is nothing compared to that. >> nunez hopes her effort and uniform sparked interest in bone marrow donors. all the recent wet weather is good news for one bay area school district. >> this is fantastic for the school. we are probably going to have enough water easily for the next 100 days. >> the maxed out rainwater
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cisterns and how schools are putting them to good use. and kristin is here with what is coming up at 5:00. >> coming up next, we hear from the brother of a police officer killed in fremont. why the officer felt he had no choice. and it doesn't look like much, but there's a lot of excitement over this parking lot in san francisco. we'll explain why. send flowers for valentine's - day, we have thorny traps you need to avoid. those stories and more next on abc 7 news at 5:00. taking on issues -- >> i'm disappointed with anyone who wants to meet with officials and a white supremacist. officials think lake oroville could reach the peak sometime tomorrow. nature can push things around in this way. >> abc 7 is right there where we have always been in your neighborhood. >> we are live in los gatos in the santa cruz mountains. >> the team you
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everyday price and no extra monthly fees, unlike cable. speeds up to 45 megs, for $30 a month. here is tonight's lineup on abc 7. and the san francisco school district is dealing with its own problems. the schoolyard cisterns are maxed out. abc 7 news report early ya
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melinda says no one is complaining. >> reporter: san francisco public schools started installing cisterns back in 2007 as a way to maintain their gardens. today 28 schools collect rain from the roofs and store that water in these scisterns. at the beginning of the school year, these water tags were basically empty. today they are full to capacity. >> i came back from break and the cistern was leaking out the side. and i was like, oh, no, it's a home. it's just over full. >> reporter: a.j. runs the garden program at jefferson elementary. he's had to put out extra buckets for the overflow. district-wide the cisterns are holding more than 20,000 gallons of rainwater. this one being one of the largest. >> that thing holds about 3,000 gallons. so we use about ten every day or every other day. so we have a lot of water for easily the next school year. >> reporter: on a much larger scale, the san francisco public utilities commission is also releasing water from its
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reservoirs. something it hasn't done since el nino event of 1997. they started with the crystal springs reservoir about five weeks ago in order to maintain a storm buffer and keep it from spilling. >> usually there's a valve down below the dam that you can release from to hold the reservoir level down below the spillway. and so we were using those valves off and on for the last several weeks. >> reporter: the water from the lower crystals spring reservoir is carefully released into the san matteo creek. leah melendez, abc 7 news. mayor san ricardo made good on his campaign to pick up trash and other items this morning. according to a report going before the san jose city council tomorrow, the city has seen an increase in illegal dumping in recent years. more than 1200 mattresses and
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320 tons of trash have been left on the streets. thank you for joining us from abc 7 news at 4:00. abc 7 news at 5:00 starts right now. >> this is still a dynamic situation. it's still a situation we are trying to assess. >> emergency workers are racing to repair a damaged spillway before more rain causes even more problems. and a downtown turns into no town. evacuations empty out the city of oroville. tonight nearly 200,000 people want to stop living out of their cars and go home. gaping holes in a roadway. the south bay won't be back to normal any time soon. and a levee has broken and people living in the area are asked to get out. getting those people home is important to me. i want that to happen as absolutely soon as possible. but i have to be able to sleep at night knowing they are back
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in that area. >> and that area is downstream from the oroville dam where water is rushing over a damaged spillway. roughly 200,000 people are evacuated this evening. >> right now they still have no idea when they might be allowed to return to their homes. good evening, i'm dan ashley. >> i'm christine zee. thank you for joining us. we'll get to the very latest now. the imminent threat of a breach wall has receded. >> no water is spilling over the reservoir right now. the goal is to lower the lake level by 50 feet. all of the the state's national guard is on alert ready to assist if need be. >> and here's which have purrture picture of the oroville spillway. >> let's show you a map of the 11 communities downstream we are talking about all under evacuation orders right now. residents are staying in hotels, with friends, some even in their

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