Oct 19, 2005 6:49 am US/Eastern
Another Nervous Night Watching The Dam In Taunton
TAUNTON (CBS4) ―
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Taunton's Whittenton Mills Dam is slowly deteriorating and in danger of breaching.
CBS4
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"Excessive vibrations" have been detected in the Whittenton Mills dam.
CBS4
Schools in Taunton will be closed for a second day Wednesday, while concerns over the safety of the Whittenton Mills Dam are addressed. "Excessive vibrations" have been detected within the dam.
The fear is the dam could breach at any time, sending a wave of water up to six feet high flowing into neighborhoods along the Mill River and the downtown area.
As a precaution, thousands of people have been evacuated.
Late Tuesday morning, dam engineer Matthew Bellisle said the water level behind the dam had decreased several inches. But by Tuesday afternoon, that water level was no longer dropping.
Mayor Robert Nunes told CBS4's Karen Anderson that authorities noticed the condition of the dam changed dramatically around 2 a.m. Tuesday. There was an increase in water pressure and water levels were weakening the dam.
All schools were closed Tuesday and downtown streets and businesses have been closed. Portions of Routes 140, 44 and 138 have been shut down.
Hundreds of homes and thousands of people have been evacuated along a two-to-three mile stretch along the Mill River. A shelter has been set up at Taunton High School.
Nunes says 6 2.5 ton trucks, 3 Humvees, 21 National Guardsmen, and dive teams are all standing by, in the event rescues are necessary.
Wednesday morning Senators Kennedy, Kerry, and Congressman Barney Frank will tour the dam.
Governor Romney toured the dam Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, Romney ordered emergency inspections at 186 of the states highest risk dams.
(© 2005 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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