ABSTRACT
Until March 11, 2011 no people have died from the failure or damage of a large water storage dam due to earthquake. However, during the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake in Japan in 2011 an 18.5 m high embankment dam failed, and the flood wave created by the release of the reservoir caused the loss of eight lives. Earthquakes have always been a significant aspect of the design and safety of dams. A large storage dam consists of a concrete or fill dam with a height exceeding 15 m, a grout curtain or cut-off to minimise leakage of water through dam foundation, a spillway for the safe release of floods, a bottom outlet for lowering the reservoir in emergencies, and a water intake structure to take the water from the reservoir for commercial use. Depending on the use of the reservoir there are other components such as a power intake, penstock, powerhouse, device for control of environmental flow, fish ladder, etcetera.
