Vajont Dam landslide and flood

October 9 1963

Vajont Dam and reservior. Source TeLL-Net.Vajont Dam and reservior. Source TeLL-Net.Vajont Dam is a hydroelectric dam completed in 1960 under Monte Toc, 100 km north of Venice, Italy.  During the filling of the reservoir on October 9, 1963, a block of approximately 270 million m3 detached from one wall and slid into the lake at velocities of up to 30 m sec-1 (approx. 110 km h-1).  This generated a wave that topped the dam by 245 m and swept onto the Longarone Valley below, with the loss of about 2500 lives. Remarkably, the event did not destroy the dam.

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