Tishreen Dam in Danger: Emergency efforts to prevent disaster

The attacks launched by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries on the Tishreen Dam since December 8 have caused severe damage to the dam's structure, including power outages and dangerously high water levels in the lower parts. These attacks pose a significant threat to the dam's infrastructure, potentially causing a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster.

The Tishreen Dam was built between 1991 and 1999 and is one of the most prominent water projects in Syria and the second largest dam after the Euphrates Dam.

The Tishreen Dam stores approximately 1.9 billion cubic meters of water in its reservoir, making it a vital source for drinking water and irrigating agricultural land. Approximately 5 million people depend on the dam's water, in addition to irrigating 200,000 hectares of agricultural land.

Technical and Environmental Damage

As a result of the attacks on the Tishreen Dam, the dam's six turbines, capable of generating 642 megawatts of electricity, have been rendered inoperable, interrupting the power supply to residents and local networks.

The shutdown of the drainage pumps has also led to the flooding of electrical equipment and internal passageways, making their maintenance and operation impossible at this time. Vibrations resulting from the ongoing shelling have increased leaks within the dam, placing additional pressure on its infrastructure.

Impacts on the Population

The attacks launched by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries on the Tishreen Dam have cut off electricity to more than 400,000 people in the cities of Kobani, Manbij, and Sarin, and have left no alternative source of energy in the surrounding areas, exacerbating the humanitarian situation.

Environmentally, the dam's shutdown has caused the lake's water level to rise due to the failure of the pumps, increasing the risk of the dam collapsing and flooding villages and cities located on both banks of the Euphrates River. The disaster could also affect Iraq.

Despite the extensive damage, technical teams are working around the clock. Emergency measures have been taken, including installing submersible pumps to drain accumulated water and restarting some equipment, opening spillway gates to drain excess water and temporarily prevent the dam from collapsing, and operating a single turbine to provide very limited electricity.

The Energy Body in North and East Syria and the dam's technical teams have called for the intervention of the international community and the Damascus government to halt attacks on the dam and ensure the safety of the working teams. The dam's management asserts that its collapse would lead to a humanitarian and environmental disaster not only in Syria, but also across large areas of the region.

ANHA agency has been able to monitor the extensive damage to the dam and the leaks occurring within it.

Sh-S

ANHA