UN warns of 'tragedy' as militants take over Iraq towns

[happyslug]

7. So ISIS now control the most dangerious dam in the world.

Some comments on the Mosel Dam:

The earthen embankment dam is located on top of gypsum, a soft mineral which dissolves in contact with water. Continuous maintenance is required to plug, or "grout" new leaks with a liquefied slurry of cement and other additives.[7] More than 50,000 tonnes (49,000 long tons; 55,000 short tons) of material have been injected into the dam since leaks began forming shortly after the reservoir was filled in 1986, and 24 machines currently continuously pump grout into the dam base. A September 2006 report by the United States Army Corps of Engineers noted, "In terms of internal erosion potential of the foundation, Mosul Dam is the most dangerous dam in the world." The report further outlined a worst-case scenario, in which a sudden collapse of the dam would flood Mosul under 65 feet (20 m) of water and Baghdad, a city of 7 million, to 15 feet (5 m), with an estimated death toll of 500,000.[8] A report on 30 October 2007 by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) said that the dam's foundations could give way at any moment.[9]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosul_Dam

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7070706.stm#infographic