US warns of Mosul Dam collapse in North Iraq

The US warned its citizens to be ready to leave Iraq in the event of what it has said could be a catastrophic collapse of the country’s largest hydro-electric dam near Mosul.

Iraqi officials have sought to play down the risk, but Washington urged citizens to make contingency plans.

A US security message cited estimates that Mosul, which is under control of Islamic State (IS) insurgents, could be inundated by as much as 70ft of water within hours of the breach.

Cities downstream on the Tigris River such as Tikrit, Samarra, and Baghdad could be inundated with smaller, but still significant levels within 24 to 72 hours.

“We have no specific information that indicates when a breach might occur, but out of an abundance of caution, we would like to underscore that prompt evacuation offers the most effective tool to save lives of the hundreds of thousands of people,” said the message.

Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi said precautions were being taken, but described the likelihood of such a scenario as “extremely small”.

IS seized the dam in August 2014, raising fears they might blow it up and unleash a wall of water that could kill hundreds of thousands. The dam was recaptured two weeks later by Iraqi government forces.