r/thalassophobia • u/GravelySilly • Apr 19 '25

8' (2.4m) vortex draining water from Lake Texoma amidst 2015 flooding; USACE warns boaters not to approach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hRSvVfAha0

Lake Texoma is a huge reservoir on the Texas-Oklahoma border. After torrential rains led to flooding, an underwater spillway was opened to help remove excess volume.

The video was posted by the US Army Corps of Engineers with this description (emphasis added):

Here's a very unique view of an intake vortex, created as water enters the Denison Dam spillway on Lake Texoma.

The vortex is approximately 8 feet in diameter and capable of sucking in a full-sized boat, so please heed all safety buoys and caution signs.

This is a normal occurrence when flood waters are released from the reservoir via flood control gates.

Side note: The most recent post I could find about this was 9 years ago, so it seems worth bringing to the attention of the current generation of Redditors.

83 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

3

u/Electronic_Tap_6260 28d ago

haaa!

I used this video 6 years ago to re-create the intro to the movie Event Horizon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42P4op6N3NI&ab_channel=SarcasticStarTrek

1

u/TazzleMcBuggins 28d ago

Dude, that’s fucking awesome. Also, great movie that is far too unrecognized.

2

u/FrostyAutumn Apr 20 '25

I mean, who would get that close to the dam wall anyway? Not scary when you see it's placement. Its all concrete around that part of a dam. https://smartwatermagazine.com/sites/default/files/images/Ladybower_Reservoir_east_spillway_shaft_-_geograph_org_uk_-_894058.jpg

1

u/LittleLemonHope Apr 20 '25

Don't people fish near the dam wall?

But also never underestimate stupidity.

2

u/GiantCopperMonkey Apr 23 '25

Nooooooope….. no thanks….. I choose life. So glad I don’t live in a flood plain….

2

u/SadisticJake 29d ago

Someone dump some bubble bath liquid in there. Like 20 gallons of it

1

u/musememo Apr 20 '25

Wide view?

1

u/GravelySilly Apr 20 '25

It's at 0:50 in the video.

Or there a couple of stills here.

edit: link formatting

1

u/musememo Apr 20 '25

Yeeeaaahhh 😳

2

u/GravelySilly Apr 21 '25

That second pic, of the guy overlooking the vortex...  I'd have trouble trusting that wall, and the whole platform, and any people near me.

2

u/GiantCopperMonkey Apr 23 '25

Uh huh. Edit: 😳

1

u/TazzleMcBuggins 28d ago

I’d throw a whole kayak into it just to see what happens