many dams around the globe are at risk of failing and in many cases it's not a matter of if
but when the state of michigan learned this the hard way in may of 2020 when a
dam failure there forced over 10 000 people to evacuate in the united states alone
there are over 1 600 dams that have been labeled as high hazard that means if they break
there is a risk that at least one human life could be lost these dams are in
poor and unsatisfactory condition and some estimates indicate it could cost upwards of
70 billion dollars to repair all of them and this isn't just an issue in the united states
many at-risk dams around the planet are located near heavily populated areas one bad earthquake
or storm could result in the dams breaking and countless lives being lost from the fort peck
dam in montana to the three gorges dam in china here are five dams that could fail at any second
the mulliperia dam in kerala india finished construction in 1895. water from the periyaru
lake is diverted through a shattershed and transferred through a series of pipelines
to the periar power station where it's used to generate electricity it's an important feature
in the region but there is some genuine cause for concern about its longevity in 1979 india suffered
a tragedy when the more vidam failed resulting in the deaths of 15 000 individuals safety concerns
were then placed on the muliperiar dam which was already experiencing alleged cracks and leaks
shortly thereafter a study was conducted which found that the dam would not be able to withstand
the force of an earthquake with a power of at least magnitude 6 on the richter scale
the main problem is that this dam was constructed with methods that are no longer deemed viable
for example the dam was made using stone rubble masonry with lime mortar grouting
worst of all the dam is located in a region that has been deemed
seismically active tremors and smaller earthquakes have occurred since the 1980s
fortunately none of them were strong enough to cause significant damage to the dam but the
risk remains it is for this reason that calls have transpired in recent years to decommission the dam
expert opinion is divided with some people believing repairs are enough to hold off
catastrophe while others are convinced this dam simply needs to go if nothing was done and the
dam were to break then 3.5 million lives would be at risk of suddenly being swept away in torrential
flooding the longer the country continues to wait the longer millions of lives are in jeopardy
not too far from the small town of glasgow montana is one of the biggest reservoirs in
the entire world the fort peck dam but according to dr bernard shanks this nearly 80 year old dam
is one of the most hazardous in north america dr shanks is a former land and wildlife advisor
who has been studying dams on the missouri river for over 40 years he believes the central problem
lies in the way the dam was built his thoughts were echoed by darren mcmurray the fort peck
dam operations manager who stated the dam itself was constructed out of hydraulic fill
which is basically a slurry of mud and water pumped from both downstream and
upstream of the dam location it's not a safe methodology to build dams this technique
makes it much more likely the dam could collapse and there is historical precedent for this when
the dam was first constructed in 1938 there was a collapse that resulted in the deaths of eight men
over the decades dam construction has moved away from hydraulic filling for this very reason
if fort peck were to burst then it would result in a domino-like effect that would also result
in the destruction of five other dams located downstream reaching all the way to saint louis
along the way the flooding would destroy pipelines highways bridges and anything else in its path
it would become the worst flood in american history with thousands of lives lost fortunately
there doesn't seem to be any imminent risk but it's only a matter of time until the right
combination of factors coalesces an earthquake of the right magnitude could be enough to set it off
in 2011 the army corps of engineers proposed 225 million dollars to repair the fort peck dam
yet they only received roughly one-fifth of that amount while there are many projects that require
government attention the fort peck dam is one that should not be ignored for much longer
in june of 2020 china experienced torrential downpours of epic proportions these storms wreaked
havoc throughout 24 provinces and the strength of these rains called into question the viability of
the country's massive three gorges dam with experts warning that it could collapse at any
moment the three gorges dam is the world's largest hydropower project despite the government's
continual assurances that the dam is structurally sound the public remains weary chinese hydrologist
wang weila remains the biggest skeptic of the dam's viability he pointed out that the dam's
quality inspection construction and overall design were all conducted by the same group
additionally he believed the project as a whole was completed too quickly it's also been found
that the water levels for at least 148 rivers in china have riven above their warning thresholds
which means the three gorges dam will have a limited effect on future flood control over the
years the three gorges dam was praised as being one of the greatest engineering accomplishments
in human history however structural integrity including warps and cracks could put many lives
particularly those living in the lower reaches of the yangtze river at risk when the dam was first
built chinese officials said it could withstand the worst flood in a ten thousand year period not
long after that they changed the time frame to one 000 years and eventually 100 years this shows the
lowering confidence in the dam's structural integrity other scientists who have spoken
out about potential issues have been criminalized and it's possible the public in china is woefully
unprepared for an unprecedented catastrophe if the dam were to fail it would impact over 400 million
people living downstream and could very well be the worst flood in recorded history
lake isabella rests at the southernmost tip of the sierra nevada mountains it's located about
3000 feet over the city of bakersfield a town with a population of roughly 350 000 people
the isabella dam located at this lake was constructed in the early 1950s long before modern
engineering standards were in place which makes it highly vulnerable to damage internal erosion
could potentially lead to seepage and ultimately total failure and as though that wasn't bad enough
geologists have also found that the dam was built directly alongside an active fault line
these problems were discovered in the 2000s and an action plan immediately went into place to prevent
more seepage from occurring however the dam still has plenty of issues and over a quarter of a
million people are in harm's way this is why it is paramount for residents of bakersfield california
to be aware of the issue the dam presents so they can have an action plan to get out of harm's way
should the dam ever fail the army corps has issued a statement saying how it doesn't appear as though
the dam will break anytime soon in 2017 the corps awarded a 204 million dollar contract
to construct modifications at the dam to address identified seepage concerns as well as seismic
and over-topping issues new constructions began in 2018 and is expected to be finished by 2022
in 2017 hurricane harvey ravaged the state of texas even before the hurricane things weren't
looking good for the attics and barker dams but the hurricane only proved the need to be more
proactive about a dam on the brink of failure during the hurricane water levels in the
reservoirs filled to record levels to prevent the dams from becoming too overwhelmed the united
states army corps of engineers released water into the buffalo bayou the dams were already considered
extremely high risk due to their age and the signs of them beginning to wear out the corps
has insisted that the dams present no immediate threat of failing and they even seemed more
confident after surviving hurricane harvey however fixing the dams needs to remain one of houston's
priorities jim blackburn a local environmental attorney said i don't think there's any question
about it if these dams were to burst if we were to have a damn failure it would be devastating i mean
it would just wipe out the west side of houston i think that is a remote possibility but it is a
very real possibility but fortunately progress has been made to minimize the threat crews continue
to work on new gates and concrete channels to help better control the flow of water with so many dams
around the world at risk of failure it's important that locals near these dams work hard to minimize
that risk and make the necessary repairs because if they don't the results could be catastrophic if
you enjoyed this video then be sure to click the link on screen to check out the five worst natural
disasters in human history as always thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one