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SADE – Società Adriatica di Elettricità (today part of Edison)
Dam and spillways
Type of dam
Concrete double curvature arch dam
Impounds
Vajont River
Height
262 metres (860 ft)
Length
160 metres (520 ft) (chord)[1]
Width (crest)
3.40 metres (11.2 ft).[2]
Width (base)
27 metres (89 ft)
Reservoir
Creates
Lago del Vajont
Total capacity
168,715 thousand cubic metres (5,958,100×10^3 cu ft)
Power Station
Turbines
4[3]
The Vajont Dam as seen from the village of Longarone in 2005, showing roughly the top 60–70 m (200–230 ft) of concrete. The wall of water that overtopped the dam by 250 m (820 ft)[1] and destroyed this village and all nearby villages on 9 October 1963 would have obscured virtually all of the blue sky in this photo.[4]
The Vajont Dam or Vaiont Dam is a disused hydro-electric dam in northern Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of 262 m (860 ft).[5][6] It is in the valley of the Vajont (river) under Monte Toc, in the municipality of Erto e Casso, 100 km (62 mi) north of Venice.
The dam was conceived in the 1920s and eventually built between 1957 and 1960 by Società Adriatica di Elettricità, at the time the electricity supply and distribution monopoly in northeastern Italy. The engineer was Carlo Semenza (1893–1961). In 1962, the dam was nationalized and came under the control of ENEL as part of the Italian Ministry for Public Works.
On 9 October 1963, during initial filling of the lake, a landslide caused a megatsunami in which 50,000,000 m3 (1.8×109 cu ft) of water overtopped the dam in a wave of 250 m (820 ft), bringing massive flooding and destruction to the Piave Valley below, destroying several villages and towns, causing an estimated 1,900 to 2,500 deaths.[1] The dam itself remained almost intact and two-thirds of the water was retained behind it.
This event occurred after ENEL and the Italian government concealed reports and dismissed evidence that Monte Toc, on the southern side of the lake, was geologically unstable. They had disregarded numerous warnings, danger signals, and negative appraisals. Underestimating the size of the landslide, ENEL's attempt to safely mitigate any landslide by lowering the level of the lake came too late, when disaster was almost imminent.[citation needed]
^ abcdPetley, Dave (11 December 2008). "The Vaiont (Vajont) landslide of 1963". The Landslide Blog. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
^"The Malpasset Dam Disaster – could the Var suffer again? – Riviera Reporter". www.rivierareporter.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
^Cite error: The named reference natgeotv was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Vaj2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Vaiont Dam photos and virtual field trip". University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
^"Capolavoro d'ingegneria nel posto sbagliato". La Repubblica. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
The VajontDam or Vaiont Dam is a disused hydro-electric dam in northern Italy. It is one of the tallest dams in the world, with a height of 262 m (860 ft)...
was built to rehome the people evacuated from Erto e Casso after the VajontDam disaster of 1963. In addition to the Italian language, the Friulian dialects...
one of the most tragic events in Italian republican history, namely the VajontDam disaster. On 9 October 1963, a landslide occurred on Monte Toc, in the...
landslide which caused an initial wave of 524 metres (1,719 ft)), and the VajontDam landslide (caused by human activity destabilizing sides of valley). Prehistoric...
outcome of one of the most tragic events in Italian republican history, the VajontDam disaster. On 9 October 1963, a few weeks before his oath as prime minister...
during filling or poor surveying (Malpasset Dam). Sliding of a mountain into the reservoir (VajontDam – not a dam failure, but caused nearly the entire volume...
le Mérite medal for this achievement. The village was destroyed in the VajontDam disaster on October 9, 1963, when a landslide from Monte Toc forced 270 million...
Northern Italy. Its base is located next to the reservoir created by the VajontDam, which was built in 1960. In Friulian, the mountain's name is the abbreviation...
famously include the St Francis dam failure (1928), Malpasset dam failure (1959), and the Vajontdam failure (1963), where a lack of knowledge of geology resulted...
Tsunamis in lakes Villa Epecuén – Tourist village in Argentina VajontDam, Disused gravity arch dam in Italy, destroyed by a seiche in 1963 Darwin, G. H. (1898)...
Dixence Dam in Switzerland The Inguri Dam in Georgia The VajontDam in Italy The Tehri Dam in India The Mica Dam in Canada The Sayano Shushenskaya Dam in Russia...
homeless. The creation of a dam in a geologically inappropriate location may cause disasters such as 1963 disaster at VajontDam in Italy, where almost 2...
flood disasters VajontDam St. Francis Dam French Ministry for Sustainable Development, DGPR/SRT/BARPI (April 2009). "Burst of a Dam, 2 December 1959...
episodes 1998 Residue dam wall collapse of the Aznalcollar mine 2000 Baia Mare cyanide spill 2010 Ajka alumina plant accident VajontDam F. Luino and J. V...
Kerrada Dam Oued Kramis Dam Boukerdine Dam Bouroumi Dam Ladrat Dam Oued Isser's Dam Hamiz Dam Calueque Dam Cambambe Dam Capanda Dam Gove Dam Lauca Dam Lomaum...
of 524 m (1,719 ft). The only other recent megatsunamis are the 1963 VajontDam megatsunami, which had an initial height of 250 m (820 ft), the 1980 Spirit...
and Casso were the two villages in the Vajont (/vaˈjɔnt/) valley, above the artificial lake, before the VajontDam disaster on 9 October 1963. The landslide...
city was destroyed. 1963 – Vajontdam disaster – The Vajontdam flood in Italy was caused by a mountain sliding in the dam and causing a flood wave that...
widespread air and water pollution and ecological disasters like the VajontDam disaster and the Seveso chemical accident, until a green consciousness...
poor surveying (Vajont, Malpasset, Testalinden Creek dams), poor maintenance, especially of outlet pipes (Lawn Lake Dam, Val di Stava Dam collapse), extreme...
200-metre (660 ft) tall flood wave in 1963 that was caused by a landslide at VajontDam. There are numerous giant sequoia in parks and reserves. Growth rates...
power plant downstream of the dam, whose body was never found. The accident is considered to have foreshadowed the Vajontdam disaster [it] thanks to the...
entered the reservoir behind the VajontDam in Italy. The resulting wave surged over the 262-metre (860 ft)-high dam by 250 metres (820 ft) and destroyed...
for the people living there. Austin, Pennsylvania Dam Failure St. Francis Dam disaster VajontDam disaster "Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 1904". Library of...
two months before, at the VajontDam in Italy, a massive landslide into the reservoir created a seiche, which overtopped the dam, thereby flooding the valley...
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