U.S. warns of Mosul Dam collapse in Iraq

The U.S. has warned of an unprecedented risk of the Mosul Dam collapsing and has urged people to be ready to evacuate. If the dam burst, floodwaters could kill 1.47 million Iraqis along the River Tigris

IRAQ

Between 500,000 and 1.47m people along 482km flood path could be killed

FLOODING Tigris River

TIMELINE Risk area

TURKEY

SYRIA

Mosul Dam

IRAQ

Euphrates

100km 60 miles

IRAN

MOSUL 1-4 hours

Baiji

Tikrit 1-2 days

Samarra

Baghdad 3-4 days

MOSUL DAM

Length: 3.4km

Height: 113m

Capacity: 1,052MW

RESERVOIR	

Length:50km

Capacity:

11bn cubic metres

Flood risk zone

Tigris River

Mosul

Mosul: Could be inundated by up to 21m of water within one to four hours of dam collapse

10km 6 miles

STRUCTURAL FLAW

Dam built in 1980s on water-soluble gypsum

Seepage creates cavities beneath dam

MOSULDAM

Cavities need to be filled daily with cement grout mixture to prevent foundations giving way

Grout pump

Maintenance work disrupted after militants from so-called Islamic State briefly
seized dam in 2014

Sources: U.S. embassy in Iraq, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR)

Picture: Google/DigitalGlobe