Posted on 06/04/2002 1:27:05 PM PDT by colette_g
Syrian dam collapses
A dam has collapsed in northern Syria, reportedly causing heavy casualties and widespread damage. Water is said to have flooded several villages around the Zeyzoun Dam, near the town of Hamah, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Damascus.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) said: "Cracks appeared in the Zeyzoun dam... leading to a rush of water, then the collapse of the dam, causing massive damage to a number of villages and their residents."
Details of casualties are not yet known.
Local authorities are taking measures to protect villagers which has included evacuating them to higher ground, correspondents said.
The Ministry of Irrigation has set up an emergency committee to co-ordinate rescue efforts and determine the causes of the collapse, Sana reports.
Syrian television said cracks in the dam were first seen at 1540 local time (1240 GMT).
It added that Prime Minister Mohammad Mustapha Miro is in charge of the response to the incident.
The Zeyzoun Dam was built in 1996 on the Orontes River which has been used for irrigation of the surrounding countryside for centuries.
Ancient wooden waterwheels on the river, known as norias, are a local tourist attraction.
...Damages may exceed $15.00
Somebody had to.
DAMASCUS - (Reuters) - A dam collapsed in central Syria on Tuesday, causing heavy casualties and widespread damage, the state-run SANA news agency said.
"Cracks appeared in the Zeyzoun dam...leading to a rush of water, then the collapse of the dam and a flood that inundated a large portion of the Alghab region, causing massive damage to a number of villages and their residents," it said.
An Information Ministry official said the damage had been limited, and that villagers had been able to flee the low-lying area where the dam was to safety on higher ground.
"There are very few casualties, maybe one or two as far as I know," Mounir Ali told CNN television, adding that three villages were flooded. The dam was located north of the city of Hama.
An Irrigation Ministry official said the dam had had a capacity of 71 million cubic meters of water, of which 67 million cubic meters flooded out when the dam burst.
Regional government officials said they had lost telephone contact with the area where the dam burst, and could only speculate at the amount of damage.
"All of the lines from there are down. We still don't know how big it was, what the casualties might be," said one official, speaking by telephone from Hama.
There is something symbolic here, I think.
If you'll recall, it was the conflict of the "quaint" environment of "old Syria" versus the "soulless" modernity of the West that informed the psychosis of Mohamed Atta. A modern, less "quaint" dam built with Western technology undoubtedly would have held up better, but it would have infuriated the Islamists.
-- KotS
You beat me to it. Reminds me of the usual news reports by the usual media suspects every time a tornado hits a mobile-home park (proven tornado magnet):
"A force-4 tornado swept thru a mobile-home community in Mississippi this afternoon, leveling almost half the dwellings in the park. Damage is said to be in the hundreds of dollars."
Too bad about the Syrian dam. It's a tragedy for the victims. However, stuff happens. Stuff like this happens when you live downstream from a dam built by Syria.
Michael
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