(Dan Tri) – Disasters related to dam failures have claimed the lives of thousands of people, with Asia being one of the most severely affected regions.
Laos villages are submerged in water after a hydroelectric dam collapse
Lao people stand on the roof waiting for rescue after the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam collapse (Photo: Reuters)
On the evening of July 23, the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric dam under construction in Attapeu province, southeastern Laos, broke, pouring 0.5 billion m3 of water into the downstream area.
The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam collapse is the latest incident in a list of disasters related to dams or dykes around the world.
AFP has compiled a list of the world’s most terrible dam failures over the past 60 years.
Asia
China: About 20,000 people died in August 1975 after the collapse of dams holding the Banqiao and Shimantan reservoirs in Henan province.
By August 1998, in Hubei province, China, hundreds of people, including 150 soldiers, died after a dike near the Yangtze River broke.
India: About 1,300 people died in August 1979 when a dam collapsed near the town of Morvi in the western Indian state of Gujarat after heavy rains.
Sri Lanka: In April 1986, an irrigation dam collapsed in Kantalai in northeastern Sri Lanka, leaving nearly 120 people dead and missing according to official reports.
Kyrgyzstan: In July 1998, heavy rain and melting snow caused a mountain dam to fail, causing flooding in the Shakhimardan and Aksu rivers and surrounding areas.
Nepal: The dam collapse on the Bkakera River near the Indian border left 500 people missing in July 1978.
Other regions in the world
Helicopters drop sandbags to prevent floodwaters in New Orleans.
Italy: In October 1963, a landslide occurred on the mountainside and dumped more than 250 million cubic meters of rock and soil into the reservoir at Vajont Dam at a terrible speed.
USA: In August 2005, during the historic Hurricane Katrina, the levee systems protecting the US city of New Orleans broke because they could not withstand the weight of the water.
One of the most terrible dam failure disasters in modern American history occurred in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in July 1977 with the number of victims killed being 86 people.
Brazil: Thousands of people died in March 1960 when Ceara state in northeastern Brazil suffered the collapse of the Oros dam.
France: 423 people died in December 1959 when the Malpasset dam upstream of the coastal town of Frejus collapsed.
Success
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