6 Largest Dams That Can Break at Any Moment

It’s just a tiny crack – not a big deal, right? True – if it wasn’t a fracture in a stone wall of a gigantic dam. Unfortunately, the crack goes unnoticed. Under immense pressure, it starts growing. Still, not a big deal – just a sign the material is wearing out. But then, the inevitable happens. An earthquake isn’t even that strong. But it becomes the last straw. The dam starts to break apart. Giant waves of water gush toward the first sleeping city on its way…

The water from the broken dam floods dozens of towns and cities within 24 hours. Along the way, it sweeps away bridges, wipes off highways, tears pipelines. If you think this catastrophic scenario can only happen in a natural disaster movie, there’s some bad news for you. Among 57,000 large dams in the world, there are dozens that can fail at any moment – with no or very little warning.

#brightside

TIMESTAMPS:
Three Gorges Dam 4:07
Mosul dam 4:51
A dam across the Periyar river 5:51
Addicks and Barker dams 6:33
Fort Peck Dam 7:39
A dam on Lake Isabella 8:35

Preview photo credit:
This photo taken on July 19, 2020 shows a security guard looking at his smartphone while water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze river, to relieve flood pressure in Yichang, central China’s Hubei province: By STR/AFP/East News, https://www.eastnews.ru/pictures/picture/id/83835599/i/69/t/127
Animation is created by Bright Side.