Fatal Engineering 2025 Season 1 Episode 3

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Transcript

00:00water is the source of all life on our planet over thousands of years humans

00:08sought ingenious ways to control and store it with one method above all else representing

00:14a towering symbol of that ingenuity the dam more than just a vast wall of steel and concrete the

00:21dam is an essential tool in human survival but dams can be deadly Brazil 2019 millions of tons

00:29of toxic sludge were unleashed when the walls of a dam gave way the result was a devastating

00:36environmental disaster that claimed the lives of 270 workers and anyone unfortunate enough to be in

00:43its path if you're underneath the dam it looks like the entire surface of the earth has detached and

00:51now rushing towards you in September 2023 an estimated 24,000 people lost their lives in

00:59the Libyan city of Derna when not one but two dams collapsed a 30-foot high wall of water slams into

01:08the city below in 1959 423 people on France's southern coast died when a newly built dam collapsed

01:18flattening villages and a town nobody knew at the time but the location was right across a geological

01:28fault line with an estimated 60,000 large dams in operation worldwide have engineers truly learned

01:37the lessons of the past or is the clock quietly ticking down to the next example of fatal engineering

01:46we are on the French Riviera a unique coastline boasts the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean and rugged hills known for their raw untamed beauty

01:53we are on the French Riviera a unique coastline boasts the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean and rugged hills known for their raw untamed beauty

02:00but since 1959 the region has carried a permanent scar a name that still haunts its people to this day

02:07Malpassay the circumstances over a number of years have all conspired to this one moment in time

02:14the circumstances over a number of years have all conspired to this one moment in time

02:20it's 9 13 p.m. on Wednesday December 2 1959 when the unthinkable happens the Malpassay dam holding back 50 million cubic meters of water

02:35It's 9.13 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2, 1959, when the unthinkable happens.

02:45The Malpassay Dam, holding back 50 million cubic meters of water,

02:50the equivalent of 20,000 Olympic swimming pools, collapses without warning.

02:57The entire dam unpeels from right to left, unleashing all of the water,

03:03dumps it straight into the valley.

03:09The rupture unleashes a 40-meter-high wave, the height of a 13-story building.

03:16600-ton sections of the dam's walls are hurled hundreds of meters away like pebbles,

03:21obliterating everything in their path.

03:25At an estimated speed of 43 miles per hour, the water charges downriver,

03:30almost instantly destroying the two small villages.

03:35The water and barrels further down the valley towards the town of Frejus.

03:429.33 p.m., just 20 minutes after the collapse,

03:47the wall of water reaches the town of Frejus, home to 13,000 people.

03:51Still three meters tall, the water is now littered with debris and concrete,

03:59making it all the more deadly.

04:01This relentless force floods the western part of the city,

04:05taking only five minutes to wash away 30 kilometers of railway tracks.

04:1210 p.m., nearly 45 minutes after the disaster begins,

04:16the raging torrent finally reaches the Mediterranean Sea.

04:21The next morning, survivors awaken to horror.

04:25But most tragically, approximately 423 people lost their lives,

04:30although the true figure could have been much higher.

04:33Why did a dam built of concrete and steel fail so suddenly?

04:42We are in the late 1940s in southern France,

04:45in the city of Frejus.

04:48Regular droughts during the long, hot summers

04:50severely impact this growing city,

04:53and local farm workers struggle to make a living from the arid land.

04:58What they all needed was a regulated flow of water,

05:01a steady and reliable supply for agriculture,

05:05domestic use, and as a center for booming tourism.

05:08It was decided that a dam should be built

05:12to control the rainfall and control the flow of water.

05:18And so surveys were done looking for the best place

05:22to put a large dam to control these seasonal flooding events

05:25that would happen.

05:26Experts identify a narrow gorge in the Reran Valley,

05:32located 12 kilometers upstream from Frejus.

05:36It's the work of French engineer André Coyne.

05:40With 70 dams to his name,

05:42his work was widely respected.

05:45Standing 66 meters high,

05:47the equivalent of a 22-story building,

05:49and 222 meters long,

05:51the Malpassé Dam is made of concrete and steel.

05:54With a solid masonry foundation,

05:58it measures 6.78 meters wide at the base

06:00and 1.5 meters thick at the top.

06:06He chose a double-arched dam,

06:09and this dam is very unique and very well-suited

06:13because it minimizes the material while maximizing its strength.

06:18Built to hold 50 million cubic meters of water

06:23stored in the reservoir behind it,

06:25the upstream-facing curved design

06:27distributes the immense weight of the water

06:29along the structure and onto the opposing banks.

06:35Control valves at the base of the wall

06:37and a spillway at its center

06:39are designed to release water

06:40and prevent excessive pressure buildup on the dam.

06:44For centuries,

06:46arched dams have been a proven and tested design,

06:49but they must be built in the right location.

06:54The selection was more based on

06:57the size and shape of the valley

06:59and not so much about the underlying geology.

07:02Nobody knew at the time,

07:04but the location where the Malpassé Dam was built

07:08was right across a geological fault line.

07:13Where you have a fault line,

07:15you have bedrock that moves.

07:18Maybe moves imperceivably to the human eye,

07:21but it moves all the same.

07:23And if you build something on top of that rock,

07:25if your foundations move,

07:27your structure will also move.

07:29And movement is not a word

07:32that you associate with a down wall.

07:35In their rush to construct it,

07:38Andre Coyne and his team of engineers

07:40failed to fully assess the risks

07:42posed by the terrain beneath the dam.

07:45This oversight doomed the Malpassé Dam

07:48from the moment of its construction

07:49and would set off a catastrophic chain of events

07:53for the valley's residents below.

07:55The decision to ignore it

07:57would be the first fatal mistake.

08:00Celebrated as a marvel of construction

08:02at its inauguration in 1954,

08:06the Malpassé Dam was destined for failure.

08:10But is this engineering error

08:12the only factor responsible

08:14for the terrible disaster?

08:15Usually when you construct a dam,

08:22proper procedure to test its mechanical robustness

08:26is to fill a little bit, drain, look for leaks,

08:30fill a little bit more,

08:31this incremental and repeated filling.

08:33And you can let it do its job for decades to come.

08:36That didn't happen at Malpassé.

08:39The Rayran River, which feeds the Malpassé Dam,

08:42is dry for nine months of the year,

08:45limiting the ability to fill the reservoir incrementally

08:48and test the dam.

08:49And so, in this case,

08:56it was never really tested

08:57until it was at its full capacity.

08:59And the problems that existed

09:02weren't known until it was completely full.

09:06It takes five years

09:09for the reservoir to reach full capacity.

09:12But during this time,

09:13as the dam slowly fills,

09:15water begins seeping

09:16into the geological fault beneath the structure.

09:19The pressure exerted by the reservoir

09:22increases as the water level rises,

09:25forcing water deeper into the fault.

09:28The pressure where that water was entering the bedrock cracks,

09:34pushing the water ever further,

09:36splitting the rocks ever more.

09:38It's a chain reaction.

09:43In November 1959,

09:45one month before the Malpassé Dam collapse,

09:48with the water level still seven meters below the top,

09:52small cracks begin to appear on the dam's wall.

09:56Considered minor leaks,

09:57they are ignored by engineers,

09:59convinced that the design is strong enough

10:01to withstand these anomalies.

10:04But there's more.

10:09A new factor further accelerates

10:11the tragic fate of the Malpassé Dam.

10:15There is a huge storm.

10:18that is dumping a tremendous amount of water

10:21down onto the earth.

10:24The reservoir fills rapidly.

10:27The dam's caretaker requests permission

10:30to open a control valve at the base of the wall

10:32to release water and reduce pressure

10:35from the rising levels.

10:36His request is denied.

10:44Because just downstream,

10:46there's a huge highway construction project,

10:49this massive A8 highway

10:51that will connect the regions of southern France.

10:54And the concern is this uncontrolled release of water

10:57will obliterate the construction site.

11:005.30 p.m.

11:05For the first time,

11:06the dam reaches maximum capacity.

11:09It now has to withstand the pressure

11:10of 50 million cubic meters of water,

11:13enough to fill 20,000 Olympic swimming pools.

11:16As the heavy rain continues to pour,

11:21the dam's engineer, Andre Coyne,

11:23arrives on site to inspect his structure.

11:26Aware of the risks threatening the dam,

11:28he finally orders the control valves to be opened.

11:31It's 6 p.m.

11:34He doesn't know it yet,

11:35but it's already too late.

11:37The damage has been done.

11:40Downstream, thousands of residents

11:42from several small villages

11:44and those in the town of Fréjus

11:45are blissfully unaware

11:47that a now unstoppable chain of events

11:49has begun

11:50that would ultimately destroy their world.

11:549 p.m.

11:56Despite warnings that the dam was in danger of bursting,

11:59the local authorities had not issued any orders

12:02to evacuate the town and surrounding area.

12:05One final and disastrous factor

12:08would then come into play.

12:12The A8 motorway construction,

12:14just a kilometer downstream from the dam,

12:17a project that had been underway for months.

12:21While on site,

12:22engineers are aware of the dam,

12:24but confident their construction works

12:26would do nothing to affect

12:27the stability of the dam wall.

12:28However, one crucial and fatal decision

12:32changed everything.

12:33The use of dynamite.

12:37Blasting is a common construction technique

12:39used to break up extremely hard mountain rock.

12:43However, the detonations create shock waves

12:46that reverberate through the ground.

12:49That blasting is only going to exacerbate

12:52whatever existing problems happen.

12:53Each blast sends violent shock waves

12:57towards the fault line.

12:59What had been small but acceptable cracks

13:02in the immense wall

13:03has now turned into large streams

13:05of water running down the right side

13:08of the structure.

13:09With the unstable bedrock,

13:11the increasing amount of pressure

13:12on the water making its way into the cracks,

13:15and the explosions occurring just a kilometer away.

13:20All the pieces of this disastrous jigsaw

13:23are now in place.

13:259.13 PM.

13:28The dam, once a symbol of modern engineering,

13:31collapses under the pressure.

13:33The collapse begins with the right-hand side

13:36failing first,

13:38spreading quickly from right to left.

13:40And as you're looking up at the giant wall,

13:43huge chunks of steel-reinforced concrete

13:46break away from the dam,

13:49releasing a 40-meter-high wall of water

13:53down into the valley.

13:55The raging water destroys everything in its path

14:01at an estimated speed of 70 kilometers per hour.

14:07A five-kilometer stretch of the Rayran Valley

14:10is literally wiped out.

14:13The town of Frejus is pummeled.

14:17155 buildings are completely destroyed,

14:19and 796 are damaged.

14:22But the most tragic loss was the human toll.

14:27Although the actual number may be higher,

14:29423 people perish when the Malpassay Dam bursts.

14:34The lessons that can be learned are that

14:36it pays to do your homework at the beginning, right?

14:40The dam selection criterion,

14:44where is it and what is the underlying geology

14:47is most important,

14:48because if you get that wrong,

14:50it doesn't matter how fancy your dam is,

14:52you are building it on shaky ground.

14:56A poor site selection

14:57and bad construction practices

14:59were enough to doom the structure from the start,

15:02making the Malpassay Dam collapse

15:04the worst dam disaster in France.

15:08But what happens when dams

15:09that are not made of steel and concrete collapse?

15:11The 11th of September, 2023.

15:30The day when the city of Derna,

15:32on the Mediterranean coast of Libya,

15:34is put on the map.

15:37But for all the wrong reasons.

15:38It's 1 a.m.

15:4313 kilometers away,

15:45the Al-Balad Dam has burst,

15:47sending a terrifying wall of water

15:49towards the country's 18th most populous city.

15:53All that remains between their safety

15:55and the total disaster heading their way

15:57is a second, larger dam.

16:01Located on the outskirts of the city,

16:04the Abu Mansour Dam is much larger than the first.

16:07It serves as a shield

16:08for Derna's 100,000 inhabitants

16:10in the event of flooding

16:12and is intended to be able

16:14to contain the hellish flood heading their way.

16:18Tragically, the pressure is too great.

16:23The entirety of Derna is asleep,

16:26and so they are unaware of this catastrophe

16:28which is about to happen.

16:29This second dam offers little resistance

16:35to the gigantic overpowering wave.

16:38It's now 3 a.m.

16:41In a deafening roar, the dam collapses.

16:44All of that water is now released into Derna.

16:50Buildings are no match

16:51for the destructive power of water and mud.

16:54The power goes out,

17:02plunging the city into darkness.

17:04Residents scramble to safety on rooftops.

17:09As day breaks the following morning,

17:12the true extent of the devastation can be seen.

17:14The city looks like a war zone.

17:16The city looks like a war zone.

17:46Although the official death toll is 5,923,

17:51this fatal wall of water was estimated

17:54to have actually claimed the lives of 24,000 people,

17:57a quarter of the city's population.

18:03It was the second deadliest dam burst in history.

18:10What meteorological and technological phenomena

18:13turned these monumental civil engineering structures

18:17into fatal engineering?

18:26That region had experienced violent Mediterranean storms

18:30in the past, in the 40s, the 50s, and in the 60s.

18:33It was decided that a dam was the right piece of infrastructure

18:45to protect the city of Derna.

18:47But not just one dam, a series of two dams.

18:50Built in the 1970s by a then Yugoslavian company,

18:56the first dam is located upstream of the Derna River.

18:59Its reservoir can hold 1.5 million cubic meters,

19:03equivalent to the volume of 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

19:07The Al-Bilad Dam would be a smaller structure

19:12to contain rainwater and slow any flow

19:16coming through the valley towards the city.

19:18It would augment the ability of the first dam,

19:22the main dam, to control the floodwaters.

19:24The Abu Mansour Dam is located on the outskirts of the city,

19:28just a few hundred meters from its edges.

19:30At 75 meters high, it can hold 22.5 million cubic meters,

19:3615 times more than the Al-Bilad Dam.

19:39The second dam, the Abu Mansour Dam,

19:42would be much bigger as almost a backstop to the first dam.

19:48Working together,

19:50the city of Derna would be protected

19:54from even the worst storm, or so it was thought.

20:00Here, in Libya,

20:04it was decided that an embankment dam would be built.

20:08Low cost and easy to construct in this arid area,

20:12an embankment dam uses a gravity-based design

20:15that relies on its own mass to hold back water.

20:19The Al-Bilad and Abu Mansour dams

20:22consist of two main parts,

20:24a central core constructed of large blocks of concrete and rocks,

20:27which is then filled with clay to reinforce it,

20:30creating an impermeable wall.

20:33It's covered with an outer layer of more natural materials,

20:36such as earth, sand, and pebbles,

20:38which can be sourced locally.

20:42Sanctate is just natural material.

20:45The environment eats away at it

20:47more easily than a more rub-and-bust material like concrete.

20:51It's not sophisticated.

20:52It's just dirt, right?

20:54And so the effect of water on that

20:57can be catastrophic if it's not done well.

21:02When the Al-Bilad dam was built,

21:04it seemed to be an appropriate choice

21:06for the volume of water needed to be held

21:08to safely control the seasonal floods

21:11that, in the past,

21:12had caused so much damage to the city of Derna.

21:15This was back in 1970.

21:23What the engineers couldn't have predicted back then,

21:26and therefore hadn't taken into account,

21:28would be the devastating and unstoppable effects

21:31of climate change.

21:32At the beginning of September 2023,

21:37Storm Daniel wreaked havoc in the Mediterranean Sea.

21:40It caused more than 2 billion U.S. dollars

21:43in damages in Greece and Turkey

21:45before moving toward the North African coast.

21:56On the morning of September 10,

21:58rain, estimated at 250 times the average monthly amount,

22:02fell in just 24 hours.

22:05The authorities declared a state of emergency

22:07as unprecedented rainfall poured more and more water

22:11into the Derna Valley upstream of the city.

22:14What was normally a dry riverbed

22:16now resembled a surging flood.

22:19The only thing in between Derna

22:22and that massive amount of water

22:23are the dams damming the river.

22:25It's 12.30 a.m.,

22:33and Storm Daniel has been raging.

22:37As unprecedented rainfall poured more and more water

22:41into the Derna Valley upstream of the city,

22:44the water rushes into the reservoir of the Al-Balad Dam.

22:48Like all dams,

22:49it is equipped with safety mechanisms called spillways

22:52that are designed to release excess water.

22:55The spillway is built lower

22:57than the desired maximum level of the reservoir.

23:00When the water reaches its level,

23:02it begins to overflow into the spillway,

23:05allowing the water to be diverted

23:06in a controlled manner to the other side of the dam,

23:09preventing the water level from rising dangerously.

23:12But in this case,

23:16there's just so much water

23:17that the spillways can't take up that volume.

23:21It's 12.55 a.m.

23:23The reservoir level quickly reaches its maximum capacity.

23:28At this point,

23:29a devastating phenomenon occurs

23:30that will trigger the carnage to come.

23:35There's a mechanism which is called overtopping,

23:37which is extremely bad for dams,

23:40in earthen dams in particular.

23:43Overtopping is when the water

23:44that exceeds the dam walls

23:46begins to cascade over the opposite side of the wall.

23:51The water that's overtopping the dam

23:53isn't going very quickly,

23:55but it's falling a long distance.

23:57And so with that distance,

23:59there's a lot of kinetic energy

24:00that's being imparted into the dam,

24:02this earthen dam.

24:03It's not going to stand up to that abuse,

24:06and so it just erodes.

24:07When the overtopping of an embankment dam

24:11like Al-Bilad begins,

24:13the loose materials,

24:15especially earthen clay components,

24:17are quickly washed away.

24:19And if the structure is old

24:21and not properly maintained,

24:22the effect is compounded.

24:24Such is the case with the Al-Bilad dam.

24:30It's 1 a.m.

24:32The pressure is too much,

24:34and the Al-Bilad dam

24:35completely gives way

24:36to the unstoppable force behind it.

24:38The only thing standing in between Derna

24:43and the huge amount of water

24:45that's been released

24:45barreling down the valley

24:47is the Abomancer dam.

24:50That wall of water

24:52crashes into the reservoir.

24:57And that reservoir level

24:59rises very, very quickly.

25:01Built to withstand a load

25:09at least five times greater

25:10than that of the Al-Bilad dam,

25:13the designers hoped

25:15that the Abu Mansur dam

25:16would be able to absorb

25:18the additional load imposed on it

25:20and protect the city below.

25:22However, within 30 minutes,

25:25the levels quickly surpassed

25:26the height of the wall,

25:27and, as with the Al-Bilad dam,

25:29the water begins to overflow.

25:31Crashing against the base

25:33on the other side.

25:34But that's not all.

25:36A history of poor maintenance

25:38leads to another devastating factor

25:40that transforms this final barrier

25:42to the city

25:43into a massively destructive force.

25:49The Abu Mansur dam

25:50had already been crumbling

25:52for several years,

25:53with cracks forming on its surface.

25:56When this raging wave

25:58strikes the wall

25:58during that dreadful night,

26:00it seeps into these cracks,

26:02creating what engineers call piping.

26:06If you allow water

26:08to pass through

26:09even the smallest gaps

26:11within your wall,

26:13those gaps can start to open up

26:15and grow over time

26:17until your wall is weakened.

26:18That water makes the dam wall

26:23unstable until, at a point,

26:26the wall is no longer strong enough

26:28to hold back that weight of water.

26:323 a.m.

26:34Weakened and under pressure

26:36from all sides,

26:37the Abu Mansur dam

26:38completely gives way.

26:39A 30-foot high wall of water

26:42slams into the city below,

26:45obliterating entire neighbourhoods

26:47in just seconds.

26:49The lucky ones

26:56are those who perish

26:58fast asleep,

26:59no idea what's happened.

27:01The unlucky ones

27:02are those

27:03who actually experience

27:04the terrifying view,

27:06the terrifying sound

27:08of this mass of water

27:10crashing towards you,

27:13knowing that there is

27:14nowhere to escape.

27:15Due to these fatal

27:17engineering errors,

27:18an estimated 24,000 people

27:21have died,

27:22and thousands more

27:23are left homeless,

27:24having lost everything.

27:30A humanitarian disaster

27:32that serves as a reminder

27:33of the importance

27:34of maintaining dams

27:35if we want them

27:36to continue to protect us

27:38rather than destroy us.

27:45examples of fatal engineering

27:53can be the result

27:55of mistakes in construction.

27:57They can be the result

27:58of mistakes in design

28:00and calculations

28:01of materials and dimensions,

28:03or they can be the result

28:04of mismanagement

28:05and lack of maintenance.

28:07So what happens

28:08when all three are at play?

28:10With its 21 million inhabitants,

28:27or 10% of the Brazilian population,

28:29the state of Minas Gerais

28:31is one of the richest

28:32and most dynamic

28:33in the country.

28:35Known for mining activities,

28:37a wealth of minerals

28:38such as gold and diamonds,

28:40it alone accounts

28:41for almost 10%

28:42of Brazil's GDP.

28:47The Corrego de Feijão

28:48iron mine

28:49in the municipality

28:50of Brumadinho

28:51is one of the beating hearts

28:53of the local economy.

28:56It is the biggest employer.

28:59Families who live together

29:01in the town

29:01work together in the mine.

29:04This mine has been

29:05in existence for decades,

29:07and one of the things

29:08that happens

29:09in iron ore mining

29:10is there's a lot of waste

29:12to generate it.

29:12This is called tailings.

29:14And at the Brumadinho mine,

29:16similarly to many iron ore mines,

29:18it was stored nearby

29:19and contained

29:20with what's called

29:21a tailings dam.

29:24At 86 meters high,

29:26the height of a 30-story building,

29:29Brumadinho Dam B1

29:30contains 12 million cubic meters

29:32of iron ore tailings,

29:33enough to fill 4,800 Olympic-sized swimming pools

29:37with a highly toxic liquid.

29:41But on this day,

29:42January 25, 2019,

29:45it's about to trigger

29:46the most devastating event

29:48the region has ever seen.

29:49The workers are taking a break,

29:58eating lunch,

29:59the dam is in the distance,

30:00and then there is

30:02a deep rumble.

30:08It's 12.28 p.m.

30:10when the mine surveillance cameras

30:12capture these frightening images

30:14straight out of a Hollywood movie.

30:15If you're underneath the dam,

30:21it looks like

30:21the entire surface of the earth

30:23has detached

30:24and is now rushing towards you.

30:26It is impossible

30:27to survive an encounter

30:29with this type of material,

30:31a toxic mixture

30:32of mud and water.

30:34And while not be moving very fast,

30:36it will consume

30:37whatever is its path.

30:41Buildings, bridges, roads,

30:42and railroads

30:43are engulfed by the merciless

30:4570-kilometer-per-hour wave

30:47of mud that devours

30:48everything in its path.

31:00In all,

31:01the disaster led to the death

31:03of 270 people.

31:04A humanitarian

31:13and ecological disaster.

31:17Riverbanks turn orange,

31:19fish stocks are wiped out

31:21due to a lack of oxygen,

31:22and irrigation water

31:24needed for agriculture

31:25is rendered deadly.

31:28This tsunami of toxic mud

31:30contaminated 700 kilometers

31:32of river

31:33and affected the lives

31:34of 250,000 people.

31:38It is the most devastating

31:39mining disaster

31:40in Brazil's history.

31:43What was the trigger point

31:44that caused such a

31:45catastrophic collapse,

31:46and could it have been

31:47prevented?

31:51First,

31:52we need to understand

31:53how this unique structure works.

31:55tailings dams

32:04are built

32:04like a layer cake.

32:06An initial dike

32:08upstream of the mine

32:09constructed in 1976

32:11serves as the base

32:13for what will become

32:13this enormous

32:1486-meter-high structure.

32:18You're building a wall

32:19basically out of your waste material

32:21that's enough

32:21to contain

32:23the waste

32:23behind it,

32:25and you can build

32:27on top of it.

32:29It's a fairly convenient

32:31and cheap means

32:33of storing waste material

32:35and keeping it

32:37in a place

32:37that's contained,

32:39or at least

32:40that's the idea.

32:42The tailings

32:44are mostly liquid,

32:45soft,

32:46and toxic.

32:47To solidify the material,

32:49it had to be drained.

32:50All the waste material

32:53that's built up

32:54behind this rather

32:55rudimentary

32:56embankment wall

32:57is allowed

32:59to separate

33:00over time

33:00so that the solids

33:01fall away

33:02from any liquid

33:03or water

33:04that's left

33:05on the top.

33:06That water then

33:07over time

33:08evaporates

33:09and you've got

33:09a solid base

33:11which you can then

33:12start to put

33:12more waste

33:13on top of

33:14and go again.

33:15The drying

33:16is important

33:17and so wet

33:19tailings bad,

33:21dry tailings good.

33:23Over time,

33:24the site forms

33:25a large,

33:26solid structure

33:27that becomes

33:27part of the landscape

33:28and is reclaimed

33:29by nature.

33:31But this method

33:33of storage

33:33also has its

33:34drawbacks.

33:36It's not

33:37as structurally sound

33:38as building

33:39a barrier,

33:41a wall

33:41to contain

33:42something behind it

33:43out of concrete

33:44and steel.

33:45And the waste

33:46in the dam

33:47can sometimes

33:47mix with water

33:48making it tricky

33:49to keep everything

33:50dry and safe.

33:52And too much water

33:54can weaken the dam.

33:57Water.

33:58The enemy

33:58of every tailings dam.

34:01One of the most

34:02important things

34:02for a tailings dam

34:03is to control

34:04where the water goes,

34:06right?

34:06If the water

34:07impregnates

34:08the tailings dam,

34:09the mechanical

34:10stability of the dam

34:11can be compromised.

34:14Although the Brumadinho Dam

34:16reached its maximum

34:17operating level

34:18in 2016,

34:19water was to become

34:20the trigger

34:21for the disaster

34:22to come.

34:24Three years later,

34:26the dam collapse

34:27would devastate homes,

34:28livelihoods,

34:29and lives.

34:35The mine owners

34:36were aware

34:37of the problems

34:37the water was creating

34:38and tried to find solutions.

34:40The first engineering technique

34:45to help remove

34:45excess water

34:46from the accumulated tailings

34:48involved creating

34:49a large, flat,

34:50and dry area

34:51behind the dam,

34:52which they called

34:53the beach.

34:57As fresh tailings

34:58are poured

34:59across the beach,

35:00they're spread out

35:01like a thin layer

35:02of mud,

35:03speeding up

35:04the drying process,

35:05similar to a puddle

35:06of water

35:07drying in the sun.

35:08It also had the effect

35:10to draw out

35:11some of the moisture

35:12from the waste

35:14tailings dam

35:15and dry that out

35:17and in turn

35:18give more stability

35:19to that tailing structure.

35:25Following this,

35:27the engineers devised

35:28an additional process

35:29to remove water

35:30from the dam.

35:31channels or canals

35:33are built

35:33into each new layer.

35:35As it's created,

35:36pumps would then

35:37move the water

35:37away from the site.

35:41Although these methods

35:42are normally

35:43quite effective

35:44in ensuring

35:44the safety

35:45of the Brumadinho dam,

35:47they would not be enough.

35:53By the end of 2018,

35:56southeastern Brazil

35:57experienced unusually heavy

35:59and prolonged rainfall.

36:01As a result,

36:02the pumps struggled

36:03to function

36:03and the drains

36:04could not keep up

36:05with the deluge,

36:06often becoming clogged.

36:09Rather than evaporating,

36:11all of that water

36:12was being absorbed

36:13by the waste materials,

36:14making it much less

36:16structurally sound

36:17and much less capable

36:18of holding anything

36:19back behind it.

36:21with water and moisture levels

36:28in the Brumadinho dam

36:29rising faster

36:30than they could be reduced,

36:32the engineers came up

36:34with what they believed

36:35to be a perfect solution.

36:36They came up

36:38with a third solution

36:39and that was to drill

36:41a series of 50mm boreholes

36:44through the dam walls.

36:47The horizontal drain holes

36:48would effectively act

36:49like straws

36:50and allow trapped water

36:52behind the trailing walls

36:53to escape.

36:54The drains did not allow

36:59enough water

36:59to escape as needed.

37:01Worse,

37:01they weakened the structure.

37:03And whilst these

37:06horizontal drain holes

37:07did allow some water

37:09to drain,

37:10they would be

37:11the crucial part

37:12of mistakes

37:13that were made

37:14at a mining dam.

37:17On June 11, 2018,

37:20a borehole

37:21in the wall

37:21of the first dike

37:22at the base of the dam

37:23collapsed.

37:25Mud and waste

37:26spilled from the dam.

37:28The drainage program

37:29was immediately abandoned.

37:31The problem now

37:32is the dam

37:33has become

37:34mechanically compromised

37:35and is on the verge

37:37of its stability.

37:38Employees are working

37:39to backfill the holes

37:40with concrete now.

37:41Anything they can think of

37:43to bring structure

37:44back into the dam.

37:49Although the Brumadinho dam

37:51appeared solid

37:52from the outside,

37:53inside,

37:54it was compromised

37:55and filled with water.

37:57What seemed like

37:57the ideal solution

37:58to save the dam

37:59from water infiltration

38:00ultimately weakened

38:02the structure

38:02and led it

38:03to its collapse

38:04on January 25, 2019.

38:07On the day of the collapse,

38:09even though the mine

38:10has been indicating

38:11that it's in a little bit

38:12of trouble,

38:13nothing really indicates

38:14that a catastrophe

38:15is about to happen.

38:2012.28 p.m.

38:23While most workers

38:24were having lunch

38:25at the site's canteen,

38:26the dam collapses.

38:28The entire structure

38:33of the dam

38:34gives away

38:34one large

38:36sort of

38:37sweeping motion

38:38where the front face

38:39of the dam

38:40cracks loose

38:41and then begins

38:42to slide forward.

38:43Within seconds,

38:44a 30-meter high wall

38:46of toxic material

38:47races towards the canteen

38:48and surrounding buildings,

38:50wiping out everything

38:51in its path.

38:52In total,

39:10the Brumadinho Dam

39:11collapse

39:11results in 270 deaths.

39:14With three people

39:15still missing,

39:16their bodies

39:16remain buried

39:17under more than

39:18seven meters of mud.

39:19thousands of people

39:49who depend

39:49on the river

39:50saw their livelihoods

39:52instantly destroyed.

39:54You can't fish anymore.

39:55You can't do anything.

39:58Even if the river died,

40:00we see that nature

40:02depends on us

40:03to preserve us.

40:07A tragedy

40:08with multiple consequences

40:09and not the first

40:11to hit the region.

40:13Not only Brumadinho,

40:14but other tailings dam

40:16and collapses

40:16happening in Brazil.

40:17A similar disaster

40:19occurred just four years

40:21earlier,

40:22100 kilometers east,

40:24in the town of Mariana.

40:25In addition to

40:26its mining industry,

40:27the state of Minas Gerais

40:29has the largest number

40:30of dams in Brazil,

40:31with a total of 3,000

40:33structures of all types.

40:36Following the Mariana

40:38catastrophe,

40:39Vale,

40:40the mine's owner,

40:41was ordered to pay

40:427 billion U.S. dollars

40:43for cleanup efforts

40:44and compensation

40:45for the victims' families.

40:48Tailings dams

40:49can be a practical solution,

40:51but only when

40:52they're meticulously managed

40:54and maintained

40:55to avoid

40:56the kind of

40:57environmental disaster

40:58that happened

40:59at Brumadinho.

41:00The fatal engineering

41:01that exists in this

41:03is the lack

41:04of ability

41:06of the engineers

41:07to maintain

41:08the health of the dam.

41:09This was a structure

41:10that is always teetering

41:12on the edge

41:13of failure.

41:14For millennia,

41:16dams have played

41:17a vital role

41:18in human life,

41:19allowing us to control

41:20one of the most

41:21precious resources

41:22on our planet,

41:23water.

41:24But history

41:25has repeatedly

41:26reminded us

41:27that these colossal

41:28structures

41:28can also destroy life.

41:31Nature will always

41:33erode

41:33and degrade

41:34the structure.

41:35Even the pyramids,

41:36even though they're

41:37thousands of years old,

41:38they show the signs

41:40of weathering.

41:41Dams are the same way.

41:42You have to put

41:43the time, effort,

41:44and energy

41:45into maintaining

41:46the structure,

41:47otherwise it will

41:48always collapse.

41:50These massive dams

41:52must remain marvels

41:53of human engineering

41:54and not examples

41:56of fatal engineering.

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