List Of Major Dam Failures 30353o

List of major dam failures[edit] Dam/incident

Year

Location

Fatalities

Details

Marib Dam

575

Sheba, Yemen

Unknown

Unknown causes, possibly neglect. The consequent failure of the irrigation system provoked the migration of up to 50,000 people from Yemen.

Puentes Dam

1802

Lorca, Spain

608

1,800 houses and 40,000 trees destroyed.[2]

Bilberry reservoir

1852

Holme Valley, United Kingdom

81

Failed due to heavy rain.

Dale Dike Reservoir

1864

South Yorkshire, Unite d Kingdom

244

Defective construction, small leak in wall grew until dam failed. More than 600 houses were damaged or destroyed.

Iruka Lake Dam

1868

Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture (then Owari Province), Japan

941

Under the influence of heavy rain from late April, this soil dam collapsed on May 13. Water accumulated in Lake Iruka overflowed downstream, causing severe damage to Inuyama, Iwakura, Kasugai, Tsushima Yatomi, and to Komaki. 807 houses were destroyed, with another 11709 flooded.

Mill River Dam

1874

Williamsburg, U nited States

139

Lax regulations and cost cutting led to an insufficient design, which fell apart when the reservoir was full. 600 million gallons of water were released, wiping out 4 towns and making national headlines. This dam break led to increased regulation of dam construction.

South Fork Dam

1889

Johnstown, Unit ed States

2,209

Blamed locally on poor maintenance by owners; court deemed it an "Act of God". Followed exceptionally heavy rainfall. Caused Johnstown flood. 1,600 homes were destroyed.

Walnut Grove Dam

1890

Wickenburg, Uni ted States

100

Heavy snow and rain following public calls by the dam's chief engineer to strengthen the earthen structure.[3]

Gohna Lake dam

1894

Garhwal, India

1

Failure of a landslide dam. Authorities had been able to evacuate the valley.

McDonald Dam

1900

Texas, United States

8

Extreme current caused failure.

Ha Dam

1908

Helena, United States

0

Heavy flooding coupled with poor foundation quality. Workers managed to warn people downstream.

Broken Down Dam

1908

Fergus Falls, United States

0

Design flaw. Four downstream dams and bridge destroyed. Mills, homes and farms flooded. No fatalities.

Austin Dam

1911

Austin, United States

78

Poor design, use of dynamite to remedy structural problems. Destroyed paper mill and much of the town of Austin.

Desná Dam

1916

Czech Republic (then Desná, Aus tria-Hungary)

62

Construction flaws caused the dam failure.

Lake Toxaway Dam

1916

Transylvania County, United States

0

Heavy rains caused the dam to give way. Dam was later rebuilt in the 1960s

Sweetwater Dam

1916

San Diego County, United States

0

Over-topped from flooding; partial failure.

Lower Otay Dam

1916

San Diego County, United States

14

Over-topped from flooding.

Tigra Dam

1917

Gwalior, India

1,000

Failed due to water infiltrating through foundation. Possibly more fatalities.

Gleno Dam

1923

Province of Bergamo, Italy

356

Poor construction and design.

Llyn Eigiau dam and Coedty reservoir

1925

Dolgarrog, Unite d Kingdom

17

The outflow from Llyn Eigiau destroyed Coedty reservoir. Contractor blamed cost-cutting in construction but 25" of rain had fallen in preceding 5 days.

St. Francis Dam

1928

Santa Clarita, United States

600

Geological instability of canyon wall that could not have been detected with available technology of the time.

Secondary Dam of Sella Zerbino

1935

Molare, Italy

111

Geological unstable base combined with flood.

Horonai Dam

1941

Ōmu, Hokkaido, Japan

60

A torrential rain struck around Horonai River area. This is the dam collapse in the wake, and according to official confirmed, the lost houses reached to 32.

Nant-y-Gro dam

1942

Elan Valley, United Kingdom

0

Destroyed during preparation for Operation Chastise in World War II.

Edersee Dam

1943

Hesse,

70

Destroyed by bombing during Operation Chastise in World War II. Widespread destruction.

Möhne Dam

1943

Ruhr,

1,579

Destroyed by bombing during Operation Chastise in World War II. 11 factories were destroyed, 114 seriously damaged.

Heiwa Lake Dam

1951

Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

117

In heavy rain, it swallowed the muddy stream of the village of the downstream portion and collapse the peace pond of irrigation ponds, Kameoka and damage in the surrounding area of 80 houses damaged, according to local official confirmed.

Tangiwai disaster

1953

Whangaehu River, New Zealand

151

Failure of Mount Ruapehu's crater lake.

Taisho Lake Dam

1951

Ide, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan

108

Under the influence of heavy rain, outburst with a Ninotani Lake Dam.

Vega de Tera

1959

Ribadelago, Spai n

144

According to dam workers testimonies, the grounds had serious structural deficiencies due to poor construction. On the night of January 9, a 150 meters long portion of the contention wall collapsed letting out nearly 8 million cubic meters of stored water.[4]

Malet dam

1959

Côte d'Azur,

423

Geological fault possibly enhanced by explosives work during construction; initial geo-study was not thorough. Two villages were destroyed.

Kurenivka mudslide

196103-13

Kiev, Ukraine (t hen Ukrainian

1,500

Impoundment of the clay slurry reservoir (storing the waste of the local brick factories) failed after heavy

SSR of the Soviet Union)

rains, inundating the Kurenivka neighborhood with meters of mud, up to 2,000 fatalities.

Panshet Dam

1961

Pune, India

1,000

Dam wall burst due to pressue of accumulated rain water.[5]

Baldwin Hills Reservoir

1963

Los Angeles, United States

5

Subsidence caused by over-exploitation of local oil field. 277 homes destroyed.

Spaulding Pond Dam (Mohegan Park)

1963

Norwich, United States

6

More than $6 million estimated damages.

Vajont Dam

1963

Monte Toc, Italy

2,000

Strictly not a dam failure, since the dam structure did not collapse and is still standing. Filling the reservoir caused geological failure in valley wall, leading to 110 km/h landslide into the lake; water escaped in a wave over the top of dam. Valley had been incorrectly assessed stable. Several villages completely wiped out.

Swift Dam

196406-10

Montana, United States

28

Caused by heavy rains.

Mina Plakalnitsa

1966

Vratsa, Bulgaria

107

A tailings dam at Plakalnitsa copper mine near the city of Vratsa failed. A total 450,000 cu m of mud and water inundated Vratsa and the nearby village of Zgorigrad, which suffered widespread damage. The official death toll is 107, but the unofficial estimate is around 500 killed.[6]

Sempor Dam

1967

Central Java Province, Republ ic of Indonesia

2,000

Flash floods over-topped the dam during construction.[7]

Certej dam failure

1971

Certej Mine, Romania

89

A tailings dam built too tall collapsed, flooding Certeju de Sus with toxic tailings.[8]

Buffalo Creek Flood

1972

West Virginia, United States

125

Unstable loose constructed dam created by local coal mining company, collapsed in heavy rain. 1,121 injured, 507 houses destroyed, over 4,000 left homeless.

Canyon Lake Dam

1972

South Dakota, United States

238

Flooding, dam outlets clogged with debris. 3,057 injuries, over 1,335 homes and 5,000 automobiles destroyed.

Banqiao and Shi mantan Dams

1975

Zhumadian, Chi na

171,000

Extreme rainfall, beyond the planned design capability of the dam, dumped on China by Typhoon Nina. 11 million people lost their homes. Dam would later be rebuilt between 1986 and 1993.

Teton Dam

1976

Idaho, United States

11

Water leakage through earthen wall, leading to dam failure. 13,000 head of cattle died.

Laurel Run Dam

1977

Johnstown, Unit ed States

40

Heavy rainfall and flooding that over-topped the dam. Six other dams failed the same day, killing five people.

Kelly Barnes Dam

1977

Georgia, United States

39

Unknown, possibly design error as dam was raised several times by owners to improve power generation.

Machchu-2 Dam

1979

Morbi, India

5,000

Heavy rain and flooding beyond spillway capacity. Old estimates were 1,800–25,000 but a 2011 book by Sandesara & Wooten refined the bracket to 5,000– 10,000.[9]

Wadi Qattara Dam

1979

Benghazi, Libya

0

Flooding beyond discharge and storage capacity damaged the main dam and destroyed the secondary dam in the scheme.

Lawn Lake Dam

1982

Rocky Mountain National Park, United States

3

Outlet pipe erosion; dam under-maintained due to location.

Tous Dam

1982

Valencia, Spain

25

Heavy flooding coupled with poor quality of the dam wall, lack of qualified staff and negligence of a warning of heavy rain in the area. On the next day, newspapers reported possibly 40 fatalities and 25 disappeared but in the coming days the count went down to 8 or 9. One year later, LaVanguardia spoke of 25.

Val di Stava dam

1985

Tesero, Italy

268

Poor maintenance and low margin for error in design; outlet pipes failed leading to pressure on dam.

Upriver Dam

1986

Washington

0

Lightning struck power system, turbines shut down.

state, United States

Water rose behind dam while trying to restart. Backup power systems failed, could not raise spillway gates in time. Dam overtopped(rebuilt).

Kantale Dam

198604-20

Kantale, Sri Lanka

180

Poor maintenance, leakage, and consequent failure. Destroyed over 1600 houses and 2000 acres of paddy fields.

Peruća Dam detonation

1993

Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia

0

Not strictly a dam failure as there was a detonation of pre-positioned explosives by retreating Serb Forces.

Merriespruit tailings dam

1994

Free State, South Africa

17

Dam failed after a heavy thunderstorm. The dam was in an unacceptable condition prior to failure. Widespread devastation and environmental damage.

Saguenay Flood

1996

Quebec, Canada

10

Problems started after two weeks of constant rain, which severely engorged soils, rivers and reservoirs. Post-flood enquiries discovered that the network of dikes and dams protecting the city was poorly maintained.

Meadow Pond Dam

1996

New Hampshire, Unit ed States

1

Design and construction deficiencies resulted in failure in heavy icing conditions.

Opuha Dam

1997

Canterbury, New Zealand

0

Heavy rain during construction caused failure, dam was later completed.

Doñana disaster

199804-25

Andalusia, Spain

0

Over-steepened dam failed by sliding on weak clay foundation, releasing 4–5 million cubic metres of acidic mine tailings into the River Agrio, a tributary of the River Guadiamar, which is the main water source for the Doñana National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Shihgang Dam

199909-21

Taiwan

0

Caused by damage sustained during the 921 earthquake.

Martin County coal slurry spill

200010-11

Martin County, United States

0

Failure of a coal slurry impoundment. The water supply for over 27,000 residents was contaminated. The spill was 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez oil spill and one of the worst environmental disasters ever in the southeastern United States

Vodní nádrž Soběnov

2002

Soběnov, Czech Republic

0

Extreme rainfall during the 2002 European floods.

Zeyzoun Dam

2002

Zeyzoun, Syria

22

2,000 individuals displaced and over 10,000 directly affected.[10][11]

Ringdijk GrootMijdrecht (nl)

2003

Wilnis, Netherla nds

0

Strictly not a dam or dike failure. The original Peat soil surrounding a polder (where peat had subsidized due to oxidization) was pushed away by the water in the canal. The peat became lighter than water during the 2003 drought. The real cause was new wooden piling along the canal. This new piling was water tight and therefore the peat soil dried out. Around 1,500 residents had to be evacuated.

Hope Mills Dam

2003– 05

North Carolina, United States

0

Caused by heavy rains. 1,600 people evacuated.

Silver Lake Dam

200305-14

Michigan, Unite d States

0

Heavy rains caused earthen dam and bank to wash away. 1,800 people evacuated.

Big Bay Dam

2004

Mississippi, Unit ed States

0

A small hole in the dam grew and eventually led to failure. 104 buildings damaged or destroyed.

Camará Dam

200406-17

Paraiba, Brazil

3

Poor maintenance. 3000 people homeless. A second failure happened 11 days after.

Shakidor Dam

2005

Pasni, Pakistan

70

Sudden and extreme flooding caused by abnormally severe rain.

Taum Sauk reservoir

2005

Lesterville, Unit ed States

0

Computer/operator error; gauges intended to mark dam full were not respected; dam continued to fill. Minor leakages had also weakened the wall through piping. The dam of the lower reservoir withstood the onslaught of the flood.

Campos Novos Dam

2006

Campos Novos, Brazil

0

Tunnel collapse.

Gusau Dam

2006

Gusau, Nigeria

40

Heavy flooding. Approximately 500 homes were destroyed, displacing 1,000 people.

Ka Loko Dam

2006

Kauai, United States

7

Heavy rain and flooding. Several possible specific factors to include poor maintenance, lack of inspection and illegal modifications.[12]

Lake Delton

200806-09

Lake Delton, United States

0

Failure due to June 2008 Midwest floods.

Koshi Barrage

2008

Koshi Zone, Nepal

250

Heavy rain. The flood affected over 2.3 million people in the northern part of Bihar.

Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill

200812-22

Roane County, United States

0

Failure of a fly ash slurry pond.

Algodões Dam

200905-27

Piaui, Brazil

7

Heavy rain.[13] 80 people injured, 2000 homeless.

Sayano– Shushenskaya Dam

200908-17

Sayanogorsk, Ru ssia

75

Not a dam failure, but rather the power station accident where the turbine 2 broke apart violently due to the metal fatigue caused by overlooked vibrations, flooding the turbine hall and causing the ceiling to collapse. The dam itself was unaffected, and the power station rebuilt within 5 years.

Situ Gintung Dam

2009

Tangerang, Indo nesia

98

Poor maintenance and heavy monsoon rain.

Kyzyl-Agash Dam

2010

Qyzylaghash, Ka zakhstan

43

Heavy rain and snowmelt. 300 people were injured and over 1000 evacuated from the village.

Hope Mills Dam

2010

North Carolina, United States

0

Sinkhole caused dam failure. Second failure of the dam, will be replaced.

Testalinda Dam

201006-13

Oliver, Canada

0

Heavy Rain, low maintenance. Destroyed at least 5 homes. Buried Highway 97.

Delhi Dam

201007-24

Iowa, United States

0

Heavy rain, flooding. Around 8,000 people had to be evacuated.

Niedow Dam

2010-

Lower Silesian

1

Heavy rain, over-topped from flooding.[14]

08-07

Voivodeship, Pol and

Ajka alumina plant accident

201010-04

Ajka, Hungary

10

Failure of concrete impound wall on alumina plant tailings dam. One million cubic meters of red mud contaminated a large area, within days the mud had reached the Danube.

Kenmare Resources tailings dam

201010-08

Topuito, Mozam bique

1

Failure of tailings dam at titanium mine. 300 homes had been rebuilt.

Fujinuma Dam

201103-11

Sukagawa, Japan

8

Failed after 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. 7 dead and 1 unknown. Japanese authorities state that the dam failure was caused by the earthquake, whose death toll is not reported worldwide since 1930.[15]

Campos dos Goytacazes dam

201201-04

Campos dos Goytacazes, Bra zil

0

Failed after a period of flooding.[16] 4000 people displaced.

Ivanovo Dam

201202-06

Biser, Bulgaria

8

Failed after a period of heavy snowmelt. A crack in the dam went un-repaired for years. Eight people killed and several communities flooded.[17]

Köprü Dam

201202-24

Adana Province, Turkey

10

A gate in the diversion tunnel broke after a period of heavy rain during the reservoir's first filing. The accident killed ten workers.[18][19]

Dakrong 3 Dam

201210-07

Quảng Trị Province, Vietna m

0

Poor design, Typhoon Gaemi flood surge.

Tokwe Mukorsi Dam

201402-04

Masvingo Province, Zimba bwe

0

Downstream slope failure on a 90.3 m (296 ft) tall embankment dam, possibly as the reservoir was being filled. Residents evacuated upstream.

Germano mine tailings dams

201511-05

Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil

17

One tailings dam collapse. One village destroyed, 600 people evacuated, 19 missing. Sixty-million cubic meters of iron waste sludge polluted Doce River, and the sea near the river's mouth.