A dozen Amateur Radio operators continue to be active in the City of Taunton due to the potential collapse of Whittenton Pond Dam on the Mill River in Taunton Massachusetts. There is the potential for further requests for ARES/RACES assistance within the Eastern Massachusetts section to deploy in small numbers.
The dam situation has stabilized to some extent but there remains a significant threat for the dam to breach and flood portions of the city of Taunton. After conditions on the dam got worse overnight, there has been no further degradation of the dam but there remains significant vibration of the dam and damage to wooden stanchion at the bottom is suspected with the wood structure totally rotted away providing a lack of support for the dam to hold up. It remains unclear whether the dam will collapse but a significant risk of the dam collapsing remains. [Full story]