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Mosul dam engineers warn it could fail at any time, killing 1m people
The Guardian ^ | 03/02/2016 | Julian Borger

Posted on 03/02/2016 10:49:38 AM PST by Jan_Sobieski

Iraqi engineers involved in building the Mosul dam 30 years ago have warned that the risk of its imminent collapse and the consequent death toll could be even worse than reported. They pointed out that pressure on the dam’s compromised structure was building up rapidly as winter snows melted and more water flowed into the reservoir, bringing it up to its maximum capacity, while the sluice gates normally used to relieve that pressure were jammed shut. The Iraqi engineers also said the failure to replace machinery or assemble a full workforce more than a year after Islamic State temporarily held the dam means that the chasms in the porous rock under the dam were getting bigger and more dangerous every day.

On Wednesday, the Iraqi government announced it had signed a 273m Euro contract with an Italian contractor to reinforce and maintain the Mosul dam for 18 months, following talks in New York between the Italian foreign minister, Paolo Gentiloni, and US and Iraqi officials. Italy has said it plans to send 450 troops to protect the dam site, but it is unclear how long it will take to replace damaged machinery and reassemble the required workforce.

The engineers warned that potential loss of life from a sudden catastrophic collapse of the Mosul dam could be even greater than the 500,000 officially estimated, as they said many people could die in the resulting mass panic, with a 20-metre-high flood wave hitting the city of Mosul and then rolling on down the Tigris valley through Tikrit and Samarra to Baghdad. One of the Iraqi engineers, now living in Europe, described as "ridiculous" the Iraqi government’s emergency policy of telling local people to move 6km (3.5 miles) from the river banks...

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: babylon; dam; iraq; mosul; mosuldam; nineveh
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1 posted on 03/02/2016 10:49:38 AM PST by Jan_Sobieski
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Should have bombed it 12 SEP 01.


2 posted on 03/02/2016 10:50:23 AM PST by DCBryan1 (No realli, moose bytes can be quite nasti!)
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To: DCBryan1

That was one of the things the US and UK informed the Iraq govt at the time would happen if Gas was used in the field. At least from what I have read from Powell at the time.


3 posted on 03/02/2016 10:53:07 AM PST by Bidimus1
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To: Jan_Sobieski

4 posted on 03/02/2016 10:54:57 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Obama’s Mid-East legacy?


5 posted on 03/02/2016 10:55:01 AM PST by dasboot
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Surprised one of the various factions of the death cult hasn’t already done this.


6 posted on 03/02/2016 10:55:10 AM PST by Made In The USA (Rap music: Soundtrack of the retarded.)
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To: Jan_Sobieski

“the chasms in the porous rock under the dam were getting bigger and more dangerous every day”

Well, who had the genius idea to build a dam over porous rock in the first place?


7 posted on 03/02/2016 10:56:59 AM PST by Boogieman
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To: DCBryan1

Frankly, I was thinking “is there something I’m supposed to be concerned about here?”


8 posted on 03/02/2016 10:57:11 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: Jan_Sobieski
...with a 20-metre-high flood wave hitting the city of Mosul and then rolling on down the Tigris valley through Tikrit and Samarra to Baghdad.

Wold make a great video. What's not to like?..................

9 posted on 03/02/2016 10:57:26 AM PST by Red Badger (READ MY LIPS: NO MORE BUSHES!...............)
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To: Made In The USA

Didn’t Isis threaten to blow the dam up last year-—or am I hallucinating?

.

(


10 posted on 03/02/2016 10:57:35 AM PST by Mears
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Ayn Rand would’ve called it.


11 posted on 03/02/2016 10:57:52 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (My music: http://hopalongginsberg.com/ | Facebook: Hopalong Ginsberg)
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Calling NOAH! Calling NOAH! White courtesy phone please.


12 posted on 03/02/2016 10:58:03 AM PST by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: Jan_Sobieski
I am a Christian and value all life.

But I can't feel sorrow when Muslims die.

I need to go to confession.

13 posted on 03/02/2016 11:00:07 AM PST by FatherofFive (Islam is evil and must be eradicated)
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To: DCBryan1

A million dead Muslims because of Muslim incompetence?? Best news of the day!!


14 posted on 03/02/2016 11:01:57 AM PST by ClearBlueSky (Whenever someone says it's not about Islam- it's about Islam. That death cult must be eradicated.)
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Blah, blah, blah. Looking for another handout before their good muzzy buddy is out of office.


15 posted on 03/02/2016 11:03:49 AM PST by bgill (CDC site, "We still do not know exactly how people are infected with Ebola")
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To: Jan_Sobieski

Is there a run on boat sales in the valley down below?


16 posted on 03/02/2016 11:04:50 AM PST by CivilWarBrewing (u)
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To: Gaffer

Because it’s a matter of how much money we’re going to give them to fix it.


17 posted on 03/02/2016 11:05:22 AM PST by OLDCU
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To: FatherofFive

I just absolved you. Go forth...


18 posted on 03/02/2016 11:05:28 AM PST by Cowgirl of Justice
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To: Jan_Sobieski

insha’Allah as they say over there.


19 posted on 03/02/2016 11:08:02 AM PST by PeteB570 ( Islam is the sea in which the Terrorist Shark swims. The deeper the sea the larger the shark.)
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To: OLDCU

Then to my mind, they had better get some snorkel gear and learn how to swim.


20 posted on 03/02/2016 11:08:11 AM PST by Gaffer
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