To the north, in the areas already being blasted by the flood, gigantic slabs of sandstone were tumbling into the raging torrent, dislodged by both the water and the shaking that preceded it. The water would be momentarily blocked by these impediments, but would then flood over them and continue on its unstoppable course. The volume was increasing as more and more of the Glen Canyon Dam deteriorated and collapsed from the force of the pent-up water in Lake Powell. The flood gained the power and unstoppable forward motion of a runaway freight train, as it rushed toward the Grand Canyon proper.
Pandemonium reigned in the TTIC central control room. The Atlas Screen displayed Lake Mead, the Grand Canyon, and the Lake Powell area. George had quickly obtained estimates of the speed of the rushing flood from the military helicopter pilots who were ordered to follow the front. He entered the speed, which was estimated to be 50 miles an hour, and programmed an advancing red line through the canyon to simulate the water’s progress. Two of the 101’s were displaying the television footage, taken by the two helicopters that were following the flood, beamed over the satellite system to the Pentagon, Langley, and TTIC. The other 101’s showed news services, most prominently NBC, which had, through pure happenstance, captured the video of the Glen Canyon Dam actually being destroyed.
So far, no one had come up with a plan.
More than an hour had passed since the destruction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Two military helicopters were following the leading edge of the floodwater as it catapulted from canyon wall to canyon wall, moving ever closer to Lake Mead. Evacuations had been put under way immediately, but were not all successful. Not everyone could get out of the way of the oncoming flood. The President and his key staff had all witnessed in graphic and repeated slow motion the horror that had occurred at Lee’s Ferry, where 100 people had been swept from their campsites by the rushing water. Canyon Village, along with about 500 tourists, had fallen into the canyon gorge soon after. Dozens of small settlements and camping spots had disappeared into the developing catastrophe. More and more water poured through the Glen Canyon Dam, and Lake Powell was quickly emptying itself. The same question was repeated over and over again. What would happen to the Hoover Dam? Could it hold? Could the floodwaters be contained there? If the penstocks at that dam were opened to the fullest, could a collapse, or a flooding of the Hoover, be prevented?
Upon the President’s order, the technicians in the communications department had contacted Jordan McKay, head of the Bureau of Reclamation of the Lower Colorado Dam, setting him up on a video link to the White House Situation Room. The question the President asked him was simple. Would the Hoover Dam hold?
The video link was transmitted to other offices. Staff at Langley, the FBI, the Pentagon, and TTIC were seeing the same video that the President was receiving. The security, Intelligence, and military agencies watching this had, between them, the power and intelligence to assess and address the national disaster that was now unfolding. If they were given the chance. The Emir was at the forefront of their thoughts. He had planned it. He had told the world that he would take out Las Vegas. He would not have said that if he hadn’t had a specific plan; one that had been designed by someone who knew what they were talking about. Someone with considerable analytical and engineering skills, who was aware of the weaknesses of the dam. What had this person known that they were missing?
Jordan McKay was speaking. As the head of his office, he knew more about the Hoover Dam than anyone. He had spent the last 30 years of his life working at, and in, the enormous structure. An engineer by training, he knew every inch, every nook and cranny of the dam, its penstocks, internal flows, intake towers, and power plants.
“This dam is probably one of the most solidly constructed dams in the US,” he began. There was some trembling in his voice. He knew that there was a large audience listening to him and, as part of that audience, the President himself, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and some of the most learned and powerful individuals in the Intelligence Community. So he made his summary of the dam’s internal workings almost absurdly short, going for a quick, hard impact.
“What does that mean?” asked the President when McKay was finished. “Can you put it in layman’s terms, without all the technical stuff?”
“Yes, Mr. President, sir, I can,” replied Jordan. “Think of it as a gigantic Lego set. These enormous blocks of concrete that I’ve described are like the individual Lego blocks. They’re hooked together not only top to bottom, but also end-to-end and face-to-face. It makes for a very robust structure.”
“Can the dam hold if the reservoir fills to the very top of the dam itself? Can it do that?” asked the President.
“Are you asking if we can increase the water elevation in Lake Mead to the point that it reaches the crest of the dam, and have the dam survive? If that is the question, Mr. President,” continued Jordan, “then the answer is definitely yes. This dam is very complex. For cost reasons, I don’t think we’d build a dam like that today. And we have had times in the past, during wet years when there was a lot of mountain runoff from Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, where the reservoir was very high. The dam has shown that it can hold its own in that situation. The fortunate thing here is that the water level in Lake Mead is already very low because of predominantly dry weather over the last five or so years. The same can be said for every lake along the Colorado — that river is not currently at its maximum capacity. In fact, it’s rather dry. The Hoover won’t be dealing with as much water as it’s seen in the past.”
“Good,” replied the President. “Now if we keep the dam’s flow rate consistent with what it is now, how long will it take for the water to reach the dam crest?”
“Our engineers are looking at that, Mr. President,” Jordan answered. “We have some very preliminary information now, and are computer modeling this as we speak. We’ll be able to refine this information shortly, once we get a better idea of flow rates through what is left of the Glen Canyon Dam. However, overall, the information we’re developing is positive.”
“What could possibly be positive about this situation?” asked the President.
“It’s positive in the sense that we know what’s coming. We can control flow rates through the Hoover Dam. We can store water downstream in Lake Mojave. It’s positive in the sense that the Hoover Dam will hold, and the loss of life in the past hour is probably the last that you will see in this situation. Yes, the floodwaters through the Grand Canyon are uncontrolled, but we can control the flow in various lake systems and reservoirs from there down. We can open all the diversionary tunnels and all the penstocks. We can manage the flow. It makes this a disaster of limited proportion.”
“Well then get those goddamn pipes and penstocks and tunnels open, right now! Now, sir. Understood?” The President was forceful.
“Yes, Mr. President,” said Jordan.
The President turned to face the men around him. “How sure are we that these terrorist bastards don’t have the mechanisms in place to take out the Hoover Dam?” asked the President. “Jennifer Coe specifically referred to the Hoover, and the Emir said he would destroy it in that last message. He hasn’t made a strike against it yet. Is there any possibility that that strike will come through some further bombing or focused charge application?”