The Three Gorges dam is a big problem. It’s design and construction were overly ambitious and it holds back way too much water. If it were to break, that water would be moving incredibly fast through a bunch of narrow valleys downstream. The problem is that several large cities are built in these valleys. The fast-moving water would end up breaking other dams downstream. Millions of people wouldn’t get away from the water and they would drown. Tens of millions of people would be displaced.
With a conventional missile you could put a small hole or break in the dam and very quickly the pressure from the water flowing through that break would progressively breakdown the rest of the dam.
The really scary thing is that you don’t need a missile for the dam to fail. We all know that in Chinese construction projects many companies try to cut corners to increase their profits. So it’s possible that some parts of dam are missing rebar or made of weaker concrete.
Depending on what photos you look at it seems like there’s been some bending or warping on certain parts of the dam but I’ve seen no reporting on actual cracks or leaks.
Another problem has been prioritizing energy production over safe water management. For example, during a heavy night rain, it might be wise to reduce pressure on the damn but they would not want to release any water because at 4 AM there’s little need for energy. They would have to release the water through the gates lacking generators as there would be no demand at 4 AM and they lack extensive battery backup at the site of the dam.
The Three Gorges dam is a big problem. It’s design and construction were overly ambitious and it holds back way too much water. If it were to break, that water would be moving incredibly fast through a bunch of narrow valleys downstream. The problem is that several large cities are built in these valleys. The fast-moving water would end up breaking other dams downstream. Millions of people wouldn’t get away from the water and they would drown. Tens of millions of people would be displaced.
With a conventional missile you could put a small hole or break in the dam and very quickly the pressure from the water flowing through that break would progressively breakdown the rest of the dam.
The really scary thing is that you don’t need a missile for the dam to fail. We all know that in Chinese construction projects many companies try to cut corners to increase their profits. So it’s possible that some parts of dam are missing rebar or made of weaker concrete.
Do the people living underneath it have any awareness of the risk?
Do you see signs that it's progressively closer to collapsing?
Thanks for the info once again!
Depending on what photos you look at it seems like there’s been some bending or warping on certain parts of the dam but I’ve seen no reporting on actual cracks or leaks.
Another problem has been prioritizing energy production over safe water management. For example, during a heavy night rain, it might be wise to reduce pressure on the damn but they would not want to release any water because at 4 AM there’s little need for energy. They would have to release the water through the gates lacking generators as there would be no demand at 4 AM and they lack extensive battery backup at the site of the dam.