The deaths of over 5000 people in Libya in a catastrophic flood triggered by a storm and the collapse of two dams have sounded the alarm bell over dam safety in India. The upper dam in the Libyan city of Derna, with a capacity of 1.5 million cubic metres of water, reportedly collapsed due to poor maintenance after a storm hit the port city. It had a cascading impact on the lower dam with 22.5 million cubic metres of water capacity, causing it to burst and turning the flood into a catastrophe. With 6138 dams and 143 currently under construction, India is ranked third after China and the United States in the list of dam-building nations. Regular inspection, monitoring, and maintenance of dam reservoirs are crucial to preventing any catastrophic disaster at the dam site and in downstream areas. Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s revelation at an international conference on dam safety held in Rajasthan that there are serious shortcomings in the maintenance of dams in India and that the country needs Standard Operating Procedure and common protocols for dam maintenance is a wake-up call for all states as well as the Central Government authorities mandated to ensure safety of these dams. The Union Minister also described the Derna town dam disaster in Libya as “a lesson for us all”. The Dam Safety Act, 2021, notified by the Central Government in December 2021, provides for proper surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of the specified dams by state governments, central and state government public sector undertakings, and a few run by private owners. Safety audits are carried out twice a year in the form of pre-monsoon and post-monsoon inspections by dam authorities, but there can be no room for complacency. According to official data, there are 1175 large dams in India that are over 50 years old; 280 large dams have already crossed the service lifespan of 100 years; and 80% of dams are over 25 years old. The figures speak volumes about the urgency for the country to put in place a strong inspection and monitoring mechanism to rule out the possibility of dam failure. Information furnished by the Central Government in the Parliament brought measures already initiated to improve the safety and operational performance of select existing dams under the World Bank-funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP). In phase I of the scheme implemented from April 2012 until March 2021, 223 existing dams located in seven states were “comprehensively audited and rehabilitated at a cost of Rs 2567 crore.” The second phase of the scheme envisages the rehabilitation and safety improvement of 736 dams located in 19 states, including six in Meghalaya and two in Manipur, with a total budget outlay of Rs. 10,211 crore over a period of ten years. The National Committee on Dam Safety, constituted by the Central Government in accordance with the provisions of the Act, is mandated to discharge functions to prevent dam failure-related disasters, maintain standards of dam safety, evolve dam safety policies, and recommend necessary regulations. The national regulatory body, the National Dam Safety Authority, implements dam safety policies and standards. It is reassuring to know that all 28 states and three union territories have constituted a State Committee on Dam Safety and a State Dam Safety Organisation, as required under the Act, to ensure proper surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of all specified dams and their safe functioning. As 92% of dams are owned by the states, a robust mechanism of cooperation between the central and state governments, particularly among states that share locations of dam sites and catchment areas, is vital for smooth inspection and maintenance. Construction of mega dams like the 2000-megawatt Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project at Gerukamukh along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, which is nearing completion, continues to trigger apprehension in downstream areas in Assam over the safety of the dam. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation, which is constructing the dam, has allayed apprehension of any dam failure, but the entire northeast region being located in a high seismic zone, some experts in Assam are still not convinced about the safety of the dam in the event of extreme weather like heavy downpours increasing water volume beyond its capacity. Whether disaster management authorities are ready to handle even a worse situation of twin disasters—a heavy and incessant downpour and an earthquake of high intensity striking dam sites in the northeast region simultaneously—needs special attention in the course of dam health status monitoring, surveillance, and inspection. Lessons must be learned from the Derna catastrophe to ensure that the water assets that the country has built for water and energy security are fully safe and properly maintained to prevent any dam-induced disaster. A comprehensive safety audit of all dams that have been built and those under construction and the development of a SoP for dam maintenance, as envisaged by the Union Minister, are the needs of the hour.