On Aug. 1, the river breached it, topping street lights and forcing 34,000 people to evacuate.
Following extensive rains in the catchment, in March 2012 there were flooding alerts, however the river did not breach its banks.
Every time the river eventually breached the slide and drained the lake, leaving a flat-bottomed valley.
In the early afternoon the river breached its bank opposite the Tawfikia mosque and invaded part of the market.
Despite this the river breached many times forming several pools which you can see today.
The river breached the north abutment of the dam, then soon after the south end just left of the spillway went with it.
The river therefore breached its banks easily, and used to cause frequent major flooding, until it was regulated from the 1960s onward.
However heavy rain can still cause large scale flooding as evidenced in September, 2008 when 16 people died as the river breached its banks.
Finally in 1912, the river breached the levee that protected the post destroying the road, railroad, and a trolly-car tracks.
The river has breached its banks on the lower flood plain several times in the past and is now monitored by the local rivers authority.