20 Biggest Dam Failures Caught on camera

Dam building is an ancient and intricate concept that has often led to agricultural and industrial revolution. However, sometimes, displacement of the inhabitants, disruption of transport and of access to water affect people negatively. When this happens, it brings catastrophic to lives and property. Here are the top 20 most dangerous dam failures in the world.
1. Banqiao: the dam that washed away
In the world’s biggest dam disaster, a typhoon tipped China’s Banqiao Dam which terminated an estimated 171,000 people in 1975. In more than 100 cases, scientists have blamed construction of dams to earthquakes. For instance, strong evidence suggests that China’s Sichuan earthquake, which end 80,000 people in 2008, was triggered by the Zipingpu Dam. The 1975 Banqiao Dam failure was a chain of collapses which destroyed 62 dams, including the Banqiao Dam, in Henan, China in August 1975 under the influence of Typhoon Nina.
2. Sardar Sarovar: the dam that defeated the World Bank
This massive dam failure on India’s Narmada River displaced more than 250,000 mainly indigenous people. The World Bank had to withdraw from the project in 1994 after an independent review found systematic violations of its social and environmental policies. After this humiliating experience, the bank stayed out of mega-dams for more than a decade. It took 56 years to complete this construction. Four Indian States namely Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan receive water and electricity from the dam.
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3. Teton Dam
Teton Dam was an earth dam constructed between 1972 and 1975 on Teton River in Idaho, United States. The biggest dam failure occurred in June 1976, when the water was being filled in for the first time. Flooding on the downstream regions after the failure of the dam resulted in the loss of 14 lives and 400 million dollars in property. The dam had cost 100 million dollars to build and the federal government paid over 300 million dollars in claims related to its failure. Total damage estimates have ranged up to 2 billion dollars.
4. Machchhu II Dam Collapse
The Machchhu-2 dam was situated on the Machhu River. It was located near the small town of Morvi in the Rajkot district of Gujarat, India. In August 1979, due to excessive rain and massive flooding, the walls of the dam started to weaken and then collapsed. Within 20 minutes of the flood, 10-metre-high waves swept forth inundating the low-lying areas of Morvi industrial town located 5 km below the dam. Estimates of the number of people terminated vary greatly ranging from 1,800 to 25,000.
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5. South Fork Dam Disaster
It is situated near South Fork, Pennsylvania United States. The dam’s water was often reported to be leaking at certain portions. To solve the issue, all the engineers did, was to fill up the cracked patches with mud and straw. This served the purpose for that time but was definitely not a permanent solution. On May 21, 1889, after immense rainfall, the dam collapsed releasing over 20 million tons of water. It caused 2,209 fatalities and became known as the “Johnstown Flood”.
6. The Buffalo Creek Flood
In 1972, Pittston Coal Company built a small dam for the storage of the coal slurry impoundment. It was located on a hillside in Logan County, West Virginia. The constructors declared the state of the dam as satisfactory and it was believed to be completely fit for storing a large amount of coal waste. However, on February 26, 1972, the dam broke unexpectedly and a total of 500 000 cubic meters of coal slurry completely destroyed the surroundings. All the 16 coal mining hamlets in Buffalo Creek Hollow were affected by the 30 ft. high waves of black wastewater.
7. Michigan Dam
The urgent evacuation of 10,000 people from communities below two failing dams in central Michigan prevented the loss of life. However, in May 2020, the collapsed dams expelled billions of gallons of water from two large lakes, causing destruction to property. The state of Michigan put blame for the dam failure squarely on its owners, Boyce Hydro.
8. Auburn Upstream Cofferdam Failure
In early February 1986 ten inches of rain fell on the Sacramento region in 11 days. This melted the Sierra Nevada snowpack and caused a massive flood to pour down the American River. The flood rapidly filled the pool behind the Auburn cofferdam to capacity, as the diversion tunnel could not handle all the excess water. At about 6:00 A.M. on February 18, the rising water overtopped the cofferdam near the right support structure, creating a waterfall that quickly eroded part of the structure.
Which dam failure did you find most disturbing? Have you ever witnessed anything like it? Let us know in the comments section below.

Видео 20 Biggest Dam Failures Caught on camera канала Ultimate Fact