Why This is The World’s Most Dangerous Dam

Video written by Corinne Neustadter

[desmond-hawkins]

The arrival of ISIS also had major consequences for the Mosul Dam. There was a period of time where ISIS fighters were occupying it and the grouting stopped, which led to greater damage than usual due to the lack of maintenance. They knew they could stay there safely because the U.S. wouldn't risk bombing the dam. Even after they had left, it took *months* for the work to resume. From a local engineer quoted in a 2016 TIME article: "Several new cracks form every day, some holes need 50 tons of cement.". Maintenance costs "only" about $4M a year…

[namedjavelin]

They should build a memorial to honor the victims of the imminent dam disaster.

[TrollGarlic]

Just surround the city with a wall of lava, as it will create a giant cobblestone wall and prevent more water from getting through

[danielbishop]

If there's one thing I've learned from binge-watching "Seconds from Disaster", it's that when your engineers tell you "this is going to fail and kill everyone", *don't* ignore them!

[djgaming]

For anyone who wants to know more about fluid mechanics in stuff similar to this dam, Practical Engineering has some amazing videos

[krispykrisps]

The Johnstown dam killed 2, 208 people when it collapsed in 1889. It was considered the worst non-war disaster in US history, only surpassed by the 1900 Galveston hurricane and the Twin Towers.

The Mosul Dam has 1.7 million people in the city behind it, according to the last confirmed population count.

[DaCoSaNa]

This was a dam good episode, it really did not hold back. It was bursting with interesting facts presented in a solid structure that broke open the topic into little pieces.

[yetinother]

For those not counting there are 39 dams in this video (including the one at the beginning of the video in the word damage) but not including the possible last word(s) in the video which ended mid-syllable

[Mr_M_History]

Once again, Half as Interesting proving to be the educational channel we all want to be!

[korakys]

That there is a German-Italian engineering firm is the most unbelievable part of this story.

[urban]

My grandpa used to work on this dam and he used to always say how bad of an idea this was... yet here we are listening to Sam about this 🙃

[jabber]

there used to be western scientists who spent alot of time monitoring the dam, but after ISIS took over Mosul they just fled, no idea if they are still there, becasue ISIS flat out ignored it

[gamingmoth]

"First most ranked city for names that sound like T Mobile."

What about Mobile Alabama?

[ghost]

I remember that during the war in Iraq the US military had a plan in their back pocket to take out the dam if deemed necessary.
Nuclear grade destruction without having to use a nuke...very economical.

[Romain_]

You also have to remember that Mossul stayed a warzon only until a few years ago.

[TheMajorStranger]

You know it's not an issue if Half as Interesting is making a video about it. If it was Sam from Wendover on the other hand you know this dam is about to collapse.

[Idahoguy]

This happened in the USA in 1976. Google the Teton Dam failure. Fortunately the loss of life was limited. As opposed to what is expected in Iraq

[lenshibo]

This is like watching the first half of a disaster documentary. I wonder when part two will be posted...

[redstonerelic]

The Well There's Your Problem episode on this will be interesting for sure

[mennomateo]

There's a similar situation up river from Fredericton New Brunswick. The rock that they use in the concrete of the dam is eroding the dam and it will need to be replaced soon