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Dam Burst

Dams
Dams: Hydro-electric\\ Moraine Dam: Glacial lake outburst flow (GLOF) Landslide Dam: Landslide lake outburst flow (GLOF)

The Two Main Floods

Flash floods occur when heavy rainfall persists for only a short time period (usually only a few hours), yet can cause major damage and death due to their sudden arrival. LLOF, Riverine floods occur when water rises above its natural banks, often caused by snowmelts in combination with prolonged and heavy precipitation. Riverine floods take days, weeks, or months to rise to its max and return to normal, much longer than it takes a flash flood to.

GLOF

Flash floods can also be caused by dam bursts or overflows.

From 1946 to 1955, a total of 12 major dam failures were recorded and during the same period of time more than 2,000 dams were constructed worldwide. From years 1956 to 1965, a record of 24 failures and more than 2,500 new dams were constructed during the same period of time (Jansen, 1988). Johnson and Illes (1976) summarized 300 dam failures throughout the world. Dam failure can be primarily attributed to number of major key factors including earthquake, differential settlement, seepage, overtopping, dam structure deterioration, rockslide, poor construction and sabotage. Even though, the probability of dam failure can be extremely low, but its occurrences can imply catastrophic consequences downstream, including loss of human lives, properties, natural resources and so on.

Dam failures have killed thousands and cost billions

A dam burst its banks near Jakarta, sending tsunami-like waves of muddy water crashing into a suburb of the Indonesian capital.
Crowded suburb of Jakarta reduced to a pile of rubble and buried in mud. Up to a 150 people are feared dead. March 27, 2009

CVEN 5838 Aug 26, 2008

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A dam on the outskirt of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, burst early on Friday morning, killing 150 people and flooding hundreds of houses nearby, official said 3/27/2009

Kaddam Project Dam, Andhra Pradesh, India Built in Adilabad, Andhra in 1957 - 58, the dam was a composite structure, earth fill and/or rock fill and gravity dam. It was 30.78 m high and 3.28 m wide at its crest. The storage at full was 1.366 * 108 m3. The observed floods were 1.47 * 104 m3/s. The dam was overtopped by 46 cm of water above the crest, inspite of a free board allowance of 2.4 m that was provided, causing a major breach of 137.2 m wide that occurred on the left bank. Two more breaches developed on the right section of the dam. The dam failed in August 1958.

Kaila Dam, Gujarat, India

The Kaila Dam in Kachch, Gujarat, India was constructed during 1952 - 55 as an earth fill dam with a height of 23.08 m above the river bed and a crest length of 213.36 m. Inspite of a freeboard allowance of 1.83 m at the normal reservoir level and 3.96 m at the maximum reservoir level the energy dissipation devices first failed and later the embankment collapsed due to the weak foundation bed in 1959.

Machhu II (Irrigation Scheme) Dam, Gujarat, India

This dam was built near Rajkot in Gujarat, India, on River Machhu in August, 1972, as a composite structure. It consisted of a masonry spillway in river section and earthen embankments on both sides. The dam failed on August 1, 1979, because of abnormal floods and inadequate spillway capacity. Consequent overtopping of the embankment caused a loss of 1800 lives.

Large landslides or debris flows caused by heavy rainfall or earthquakes often block mountain rivers to form landslide dams. The area upstream of the dam is submerged under water and the downstream area is flooded when the landslide dam breaks. As many as 19 landslide dams have formed in the last 500 years in the northern region of Nagano Prefecture in central Japan, and all except two have broken. A large landslide dam formed in the upstream area of the Shinano River about 250 years ago, while another large landslide dam in the midstream area 160 years ago. The Tobata landslide occurred on June 24, 1757 because of heavy rain. And the Mt. Iwakura landslide occurred on May 8, 1847 because of the Zenkoji Earthquake.

Nanaksagar Dam, Punjab, India

Situated in Punjab in northwestern India, the dam was constructed in 1962 at Bhakra, with a reservoir capacity of 2.1 * 106 m3. An estimated maximum discharge of 9,711 m3/s had occurred on August 27, 1967, due to heavy monsoon rains that were heaviest in twenty years. This caused dam to fail.

Dam bursts in Madhya Pradesh

August 2002

A dam burst under the pressure of heavy monsoon rains in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, washing away at least 25 people, officials said. Officials said the 125-year-old dam in Katangi in Balaghat district had developed cracks on Tuesday after several days of heavy rains. Less than a week ago, the region was suffering its worst drought since 1987. "Some 10,000 people have been shifted to safer places and a few villages are under eight feet (almost three metres) of water," a senior Balaghat police official told Reuters by telephone.

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Landslide Lake outburst Flow

Landslide Lake

Source: Himalayan Geology Vol 20 (2), 1999

Clyde dam caused by a landslide wave, New Zealand

When glaciers in high mountain regions melt they often leave behind deep lakes. The lake waters are held back by natural dams, formed by piles of rocks, sand and clay dumped by the melting glacier. This is called moraine dam lake. Moraines often contain large hidden blocks of ice among the debris. These can take years to melt, and when they do, the natural dam may break suddenly, releasing a flood of lake water, which rushes down the mountainside, sweeping all before it. This is called Glacial Lake Outburst Flow.

Himalayan Snow Melt Every summer

Gangotri glacier, in the Indian Himalayas, feeds the Ganges river. The glacier is retreating an average 25 metres yearly.

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Dams Burst: causes of failure

What would cause a dam burst?
Earthquake Earthquake Generated Wave Just as earthquakes cause ocean tsunamis, they can also cause wave events on inland waters Landslide Antropogenic
Overtopping caused by floods that exceed the capacity of the dam. Deliberate acts of sabotage. Structural failure of materials used in dam construction. Movement and/or failure of the foundation supporting the dam. Settlement and cracking of concrete or embankment dams. Piping and internal erosion of soil in embankment dams. Inadequate maintenance and upkeep. War

VARIABILITY OF CAUSES OF ACCIDENT

Inadequate management Lack of control of hydrological system Error in site selection and investigation Unsatisfactory foundation, lack of stability of downstream slope Seepage Overtoping Earthquake
Tuesday, 4 June, 2002

Some Dam Bursts

Syrian Dam Collapses
DAMASCUS, Syria (BBC) -- Villages have been flooded in northern Syria after a dam collapsed. The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) reported widespread damage and heavy casualties around the Zeyzoun Dam, near the town of Hama, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Damascus. Aug. 21, 2002

Dam Bursts in Central India, 25 Feared Dead

BHOPAL, India (Reuters) -- A dam burst

under the pressure of heavy monsoon rains in central India on Wednesday, washing away at least 25 people, officials said.

March 23, 1999

August 16, 2002

Dams Burst in Mexico, Killing 11

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS VILLA DE REYES, Mexico (AP) -- Heavy rains burst two dams and sent a wave of flood waters roaring over villages in central Mexico, where authorities said at least 11 people were killed -- including a 6month-old baby.

Chinese Dams Damned

By Duncan Hewitt (BBC) in Beijing Thousands of Chinese dams have been described as "time bombs" by Chinese officials. They said more than one-third of the country's estimated 85,000 dams are defective and need urgent repairs.

MAIN ROOT CAUSE: RISK ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT NEGLECTED

SOURCES OF DANGER
Direct to dam stability:
Active environment (rain, snow, freeze) Earthquake Geological conditions LLOF

Increased amounts of urbanization has led to higher peak flow on the rivers with much shorter lag times and a greater frequency of floods.

Indirect to dam (including human error):

Wrong conception Construction failure Material failure Bad maintenance Lack of control

To consequence:
Water and sludge movement Mechanical contamination by solid particles Loss of life and property

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. So Deforestation in the Himalayas has increased leading to increased run off. Population Growth in Himalayan headwater countries like Nepal puts pressure to produce more food by increasing the area of land farmed..

No leaves to intercept , no roots to bind soil in place. It has also destabilised slopes leading to landslides and soil erosion. The soil is carried by rivers and deposited in channels on the low ground. This reduces channel capacity and increases the likelihood of flooding.

LLOF

A dam at Tsatitsu Lake in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan had burst, spilling water into tributaries of the Brahmaputra.

CONSEQUENCES
Consequences to human lives, health and well being.
Evaluation of consequences with stakeholders necessary

A furious G.L.O.F. hit the dam and HEP plant at Kurichu and breached it. The Glacial Lake Outburst Floods may be linked to increased melting because of Global Warming.

Direct costs (remediation, compensation, ...) Social disturbance Consequence to environment short time and long time impacts Economical consequences and operability Indirect costs

VARIABILITY OF CONSEQUENCES
Flooding, wave of slurry Contamination of surface water, living organisms (biota), intoxication Drinking and irrigation water contamination (surface) Soil contamination As consequence of 2),3),4) etc : Food chain contamination

Costs of Failure
Physical failure: Recent large failures million $ in direct costs Environmental failure: Some recent clean-up liabilities to several $100s of millions Closure liability: Some recent examples in billion $ range Industry/investor impacts: Shareholder value losses and industry imposed constraints and costs amounting to many billions of dollars

FREQUENTLY TRANSBOUNDARY EFFECT

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Management
In depth scientific studies Slandered techniques for dam construction Regular maintenance/ monitoring Flood control measures Awareness generation among line departments and stakeholders/down stream populations Early warning system