Had the Campos Novos dam failed during the rainy season, disaster may have followed (Image: International Rivers Network)
GIANT cracks have opened in one of the world’s tallest dams, just months after completion. The cracks appeared after a tunnel collapsed on 20 June beneath the 200-metre-high Campos Novos dam in southern Brazil, and the reservoir rapidly emptied. At one point, 4000 cubic metres of water (more than enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool) were rushing downstream every second towards a second dam on the river Canoas.
“If this had happened during the rainy season, and the two reservoirs had been full, water would likely have…
