The prophet Nahum describes the destruction of ancient Nineveh or what is 21st century Mosul, Iraq. It comes with a flood. The key verses are stated below.
Nahum 1:8 But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened and the palace is dissolved.
The Mosul Dam was built by Saddam Hussein in 1986 on soluble gypsum. Translation, the dam is built on a shifting, poor foundation. The Mosul Dam has been called the most dangerous dam in the world. It is located 35 miles north of Mosul, Iraq. The dam manages the Tigris River in Iraq. The dam holds an estimated 11-12 billion cubic meters of water. This equates to approximately 3,170,064,624,000 US Fluid Gallons. Translation, 3.1 trillion gallons of water! http://www.asknumbers.com/CubicMeterToGallon.aspx
As of March 2016, the dam was in serious trouble. Currently (November 2016), an Italian company is completing work and maintenance on the dam. Trevi is being paid 217 million pounds to improve the situation. They have 450 staff employees working on the project. Trevi is being protected by the Italian military. Trevi is injecting grout and cement into the foundation of the dam.
Tobias von Lossow is a specialist on water projects in the Middle East at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. He states, “Maybe the Mosul Dam is not the most dangerous in the world but it certainly is in a very disastrous condition. The risk of a breach is very high. Not only is it leaking but some of the gates on one side of the dam are not working, placing great pressure on the other side of the structure.”
A major issue is ISIS controls areas where gravel and materials are located for grout and cement.
ISIS previously managed to take control of the Mosul Dam in June 2014. Currently, the Mosul Dam is managed by the Kurdish peshmerga. The issue is ISIS took the maintenance equipment and supplies. The Kurds are busy fighting back ISIS to maintain control of the dam. ISIS clearly wants to destroy the dam. They have stated this as a goal and they are trying.
October 20, 2016: Peshmerga have destroyed an ISIS vehicle laden with explosives near Mosul Dam. Report is from Turkish news source http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/20102016
ISIS has used the control of dams as a weapon to flood areas of Iraq.
Keep in mind, ISIS control two dams on the Euphrates River in Syria. One is the Tabqa Dam, Syria’s largest dam. The second is the Baath Dam. These two dams control water to northern Iraq. ISIS is reported to hold prisoners at the dams as human shields.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/fears-dam-collapse-remain-raging-battles-1410255276
An estimated 45-70 foot wall of water could flood the river valley if the dam breaks. This could potentially kill millions and displace 150 million more per estimates.
The city of Mosul would be underwater within four hours of a dam break. Within 77 hours, Baghdad would be targeted.
