Water levels on the river have risen by about 10 meters since Jan. 24, due partly to heavy rainfall and snow and partly to ISIS opening three turbines of the dam, flooding riverside areas downstream, Reuters said on Wednesday according to a UN report.
"As per local experts, any further rise of the water level would submerge huge swathes of agricultural land along the river and could potentially damage the Tabqa Dam, which would have catastrophic humanitarian implications in all areas downstream," the UN report said.
The entrance to the dam was already damaged by airstrikes by the US-led coalition, the report also said.
"On 16 January 2017, airstrikes on the western countryside of Ar-Raqqa impacted the entrance of the Euphrates Dam, which, if further damaged, could lead to massive scale flooding across Ar-Raqqa and as far away as Deir ez-Zor."
As ISIS retreats, its terrorists have deliberately destroyed vital infrastructure, including three water stations and five water towers in the first three weeks of January, the UN report said.
The earth-filled dam holds back the Euphrates River 40 km (25 miles) upstream of the ISIS-held Raqqa and has been controlled by ISIS since 2014.
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