The Hindu : Dam collapses in Syria

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Thursday, Jun 06, 2002

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International

Dam collapses in Syria

AZ-ZIYARA (Syria): A dam collapsed in central Syria, flooding at least three villages but apparently causing few casualties. ``Cracks appeared in the Zeyzoun dam...leading to a rush of water, then the collapse of the dam and a flood that inundated a large portion of the Alghab region, causing massive damage to a number of villages and their residents,'' the state-run SANA news agency has said. Near the flooded area, villagers said they had seen the dam start to crack earlier in the day, and fled their homes before the structure imploded. ``It started trickling out in the afternoon, and that's when people started running,'' said one man in the village of Az-Ziyarah, where the rush of water ripped down power lines and left the main street under several inches cms of water. As military trucks trundled through the mud toward the flooded towns, several people scaled a small mound above the surface of the water and lay down to sleep. (A woman is seen crying over the damage to her property in Alghab region on Wednesday.)

— Reuters

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