In our history classes, we learned that the first civilizations were built in the “fertile crescent," a region of modern day Iraq. This key first step of mankind to settle and establish ourselves was able to develop because of the flooding patterns of the Tigris River, but today a looming flood of this very same river could be the demise of millions. The Mosul Dam in Iraq is crumbling. It's weak gypsum infrastructure is in such poor condition that it could go at any minute, and when it does it will be a disaster. The Mosul Dam holds back the Tigris river in Northern Iraq. If it were to fall, it is predicted that the city of Mosul would drown in up to 45 feet of water, causing the deaths of between 500,00 and 1.5 million Iraqis settled close the banks of the Tigris. Because the Tigris flows from north to south the fall of the dam would not only wipe out the city of Mosul but also submerge cities downstream, like Samarra, Tikrit, and even Baghdad over 200 miles away, in up to 25 feet of water.

So what’s being done to address this dire situation? Sadly, not much. From its construction under Saddam Hussein in the 1980's the dam has been far from sturdy and required constant maintenance. If the name Mosul sounded familiar to you, it’s probably because you heard it on the news when the Islamic State (ISIS) captured the city and dam in 2014. Even though both have since been retaken by Kurdish forces and returned to the care of the Iraqis, the dam is still very close to the frontline of fighting ISIS in Iraq and has sat neglected. The Iraqi government has recently hired the Italian Trevi Group to perform maintenance on the dam, but there is a delay of weeks to possibly months before they could start work. So far, over $380 million worth of repairs have been budgeted, but U.S. officials predict that the total cost to fix the dam will be in excess of $2 billion.

Even though this not a new problem, the government has only recently issued a warning for citizens living along the Tigris to move three to four miles away from the riverbanks. The U.S. has advocated issuing calls for evacuation, but so far the Iraqis have not released any statements regarding total evacuation for endangered areas and seems to have no plans to offer assistance to those who need to relocate. America has recognized the severity of the situation, sending Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power and a contingent of U.S. Army Corp Engineers to advise in a recent meeting with the Iraqis and other diplomats. Power has warned that all UN member states should be prepared to step in to help prevent this humanitarian disaster, but little can be done unilaterally by outside actors without infringing upon Iraq's sovereignty. For now, the world does nothing but sit, wait and hope that repair work on the dam will be able to start before it’s too late.