On December 22 , 1964 , disaster nearly struck when the Feather River , after days of heavy rain , reached a peak flow of above the Oroville Dam site . The water rose behind the partially completed embankment dam and nearly overtopped it , while a maximum of poured from the diversion tunnels . This Christmas flood of 1964 was one of the most disastrous floods on record in Northern California , but the incomplete dam was able to reduce the peak flow of the Feather River by nearly 40 percent , averting massive amounts of damage to the area
Christmas flood of 1964
Christmas flood of 1964
Oroville Dam