A breach could result in a 20-foot wall of water coming throughout the surrounding region, officials state
Police in Florida are evacuating about 345 offenders in the first floor of a county prison amid worries over the possible collapse of a regional reservoir, based on reports on Sunday.
The Manatee County Central Jail is in the corner of an evacuation zone enclosing the aged Piney Point phosphate mine, where approximately 300 million gallons of wastewater is threatening to breach a reservoir and flooding the surrounding region.
Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes stated the units reveal the area can be coated with a single foot to five feet . The second floor of this prison is 10 feet above floor.
On Sunday, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells declined to discuss what place the prison is taking the offenders, since they were being transferred. He explained the county's unique strategy -- moving all of the offenders to the next floor -- could be too much of a safety hazard, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The rest of the offenders and personnel on the first floor of the prison is going to be transferred to the next floor, together with medical gear, the newspaper reported.
"The first floor will be empty," Wells explained.
"I have spoken with Sheriff Wells and he's promised there's a strategy set up to make certain inmates in the prison are secure and evacuated safely," Rayner-Goolsby composed on Twitter. "As I'm in a position to share the complete program, I'll. But know- I'm good with the strategy."
The pond held approximately 480 million gallons each week.
"What we're looking at today is attempting to stop and react to, if need be, a genuine catastrophic flooding scenario," DeSantis said at a media conference after flying across the phosphate mine.
County and state officials are working to pump out water from the reservoir to decrease the amount in case of a violation. Police closed off parts of their U.S. Highway 41 and ordered evacuations of all 316 houses. Some households have been placed in local resorts.
Crews have been releasing water because the pond started leaking in March. On Friday, a substantial leak was discovered that escalated the reaction prompted the initial evacuations along with a state of emergency announcement on Saturday.
Now, about 22,000 gallons of water have been discharged each second, however, Hopes said he anticipates the chance of collapse to diminish from Tuesday.
