A HOLIDAYMAKER from Colchester has told how he has been caught up in a Californian dam crisis.

Sam Goody was enjoying a trip to the Golden State when he become one of 200,000 people who were advised to leave their homes and seek safe havens.

Sam, who previously went to Colchester Sixth Form College, was attending his first NBA game in Sacramento when he was told to leave for this own safety.

He said: “We rushed home to sort my friend’s house out, get all the valuables on top of his son’s bunk bed and pack the car ready to go in case we got the mandatory evacuation notice from the police.

“Most people in the area left, the roads were full and the cash stations had queues down the road.”

The area has been saturated by rainfall with more heavy rain predicted yesterday.

The problems have been magnified because of the concerns about the creaking Oroville dam and the emergency spillways overflowing or breaking.

Sam, 25, of Stratford St Mary, said: “I contacted both the British Embassy and my insurance company but neither were much help.

“They didn’t seem interested in helping me come home early and wanted to put me in a shelter.

“The travel insurance company said because it's a flood they can’t help.

“The Embassy told me that they had no protocol for floods.”

Sam, who works in social media advertising, had taken a detour to California on his way home after six months in Colombia.

He said he has to wait until Thursday to fly from San Francisco and said many residents were on tenterhooks worried about their homes.

He said: “The organisation here has been hit and miss.

“It seems like no-one really knows what is going on.”

Sam, his friend and family are waiting for the knock on the door telling them to leave immediately.

He said: “Many are heading to the hills again or to Nevada or southern California.

“Once we leave, though, we will not be allowed back.

“They have shut the roads towards the dam.”

Sam said he fears for his friend’s home adding: “I am safe but things are uncertain.

“The embassy can only offer help once the mandatory notice comes in so I’ve been stuck inside waiting for the notice so I can get some help.

“As much as I don’t want to evacuate, it may be the only option to move to a safe place.”

Sam is spending the final few days of his trip stuck between whether to stay at a friend’s house at risk or move into a shelter before he can return to the UK.

He added: “I’m really frustrated at the situation as it seems like the travel insurance company and the embassy don’t won’t to help unless I am truly homeless.

“They seem to think I can just go wherever I want and that just simply isn’t the case.”