National Geographic: Maintaining the Mosul Dam to avoid a disaster that might occur if it collapses

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[size=52]National Geographic: Maintaining the Mosul Dam to avoid a disaster that might occur if it collapses[/size]

[size=45]Translated by / Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]National Geographic, an American magazine, discussed the issue of the Mosul Dam and the measures taken to maintain it following previous warnings, stressing that concerns still exist about the dam’s durability. In February 2016, the US Embassy in Baghdad issued a warning message about the possibility of a collapse of the Mosul Dam, which is located 35 miles from the city.[/size]
[size=45]Attached to the letter was a report indicating that the largest dam in the country “faces a serious and unprecedented risk of catastrophic failure by collapsing without warning,” which could result in a tsunami extending 175 miles south along the Tigris River to the city of Samarra, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. . Nearly 500,000 to more than a million people will be at risk of drowning unless the area is evacuated in time.[/size]
[size=45]The American magazine states in its report that in the following years following that warning, the Italian government provided assistance in repairing and restoring the Mosul Dam and is still continuing to provide assistance to the Iraqi government to maintain the structure of the dam and protect millions of people living adjacent to and along the dam. However, there are many who say that A major threat still exists.[/size]
[size=45]The report indicates that while there will be a humanitarian catastrophe, the collapse of the dam will result in the erasure of thousands of archaeological and heritage sites along the Tigris River, including many sites that already faced damage or destruction at the hands of ISIS.[/size]
[size=45]The stability and durability of the Mosul Dam's structural structure has been and continues to be a concern since the beginning of the dam's opening 35 years ago. Reports indicate that the hydroelectric dam was built on a “very weak” foundation of soluble mineral materials that required continuous grouting to support a 2.8-mile-long, 375-foot-high structure that contained approximately 2.7 cubic miles of water.[/size]
[size=45]In 2006, the US Army Corps of Engineers called it “the most dangerous dam in the world” and predicted that if the dam collapsed, it would flood Mosul with water 70 feet high within three or four hours. National Geographic magazine notes in its report that the Assyrian archaeological sites of Nimrud and Nineveh , which represents the oldest civilizations in the world in the first millennium BC, will be vulnerable to flooding and extinction if the dam collapses. All of these sites, as well as the Mosul Museum and countless religious sites, were all targets of sabotage and destruction by ISIS after its invasion of Mosul in 2014.[/size]
[size=45]While the destruction of archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria at the hands of ISIS has received global attention, researchers are trying to estimate the damage and destruction that will result from the failure of the Mosul Dam.[/size]
[size=45]Michele Dante, professor of archeology from Boston University, and director of the American Institute for Documenting Damage to the Cultural Heritage of Iraq and Syria, says, “It is difficult for me to estimate the extent of the damage, except that thousands of historical sites will be erased, and it will be an unprecedented loss.”[/size]
[size=45]Jason Orr, a professor of anthropology at Harvard University, believes that the focus on major Assyrian cities means that there are other huge sites along the Tigris River that have not been properly excavated. He pointed out, “We do not know exactly what we will lose.”[/size]
[size=45]Professor Orr also notes that archaeologists in the region often rely on artifacts prominent on the surface to determine their age and the size of the site without conducting excavations and excavations. He said that a flood would erase the information recorded on the surface, which is important information for historical investigations and which will make it very difficult to conduct any future excavation if it disappears.[/size]
[size=45]While many researchers feel uncomfortable discussing any potential damage to historical sites at a time when the lives of millions of people are at risk, they focus on the importance of historical knowledge that will play a role in shaping the future of generations of Iraqis.[/size]
[size=45]“People will ask what our historical past was like,” Professor Orr says. “History represents people’s national identity, and monuments will be part of that.”[/size]
[size=45]According to Professor Dante, who follows cases of damage to historical sites at the hands of ISIS, the damage to Iraqi historical sites will be greater in the event of a failure of the Mosul Dam.[/size]
[size=45]• From National Geographic magazine[/size]
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