What would happen if the world’s biggest dam, the Three Gorges Dam, collapsed

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]What would happen if the biggest dam in the world suddenly collapsed? The answer is so catastrophic that China has banned scientists from publicly discussing it.

[00:00:08]The biggest dam in the world is the Three Gorges Dam, sitting on the Yangtze River in China. 1.4 mi wide, 185 m tall, holding back enough water to flood entire nations. So heavy when filled, it actually slowed the rotation of the Earth. It took 17 years to build, cost $37 billion, and displaced 1.3 million people. So what happens if it breaks? Within minutes, a wall of water taller than a 20-story building bursts downstream at 100 km/h. No warning, no evacuation, nothing fast enough to stop it. Within 3 hours, Yichang, 4 million people, is gone. Within 6 hours, the flood swallows Wuhan, 11 million people. Within 24 hours, it reaches Shanghai, 26 million people underwater, 400 million people in the flood path, the farmland feeding them destroyed overnight. China's economy collapses. And because China makes 30% of everything the world consumes, [music] the global economy follows within days. But here's the part that should scare you. In 2020, satellite images showed the dam had already visibly shifted. [music] Engineers raised alarms. China dismissed the reports immediately. The dam is still shifting today, and 400 million people have no idea.