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 ...
Should have bombed it 12 SEP 01.
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.
Obama’s Mid-East legacy?
Surprised one of the various factions of the death cult hasn’t already done this.
“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?
Frankly, I was thinking “is there something I’m supposed to be concerned about here?”
Wold make a great video. What's not to like?..................
Didn’t Isis threaten to blow the dam up last year-—or am I hallucinating?
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Ayn Rand would’ve called it.
Calling NOAH! Calling NOAH! White courtesy phone please.
But I can't feel sorrow when Muslims die.
I need to go to confession.
A million dead Muslims because of Muslim incompetence?? Best news of the day!!
Blah, blah, blah. Looking for another handout before their good muzzy buddy is out of office.
Is there a run on boat sales in the valley down below?
Because it’s a matter of how much money we’re going to give them to fix it.
I just absolved you. Go forth...
insha’Allah as they say over there.
Then to my mind, they had better get some snorkel gear and learn how to swim.
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