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Banqiao Dam
Location: Zhumadian City, Henan province, China
Type: Hydro
Status: Destroyed
Year of establishment: 1954
Installed Capacity: 18 GWe
Project Description
The dam was completed in 1952 as part of a campaign to “Harness the Huai River” and its tributaries after severe flooding in preceding years. Officially, the dam failure was natural as opposed to man-made disaster, with government sources placing an emphasis on the amount of rainfall as opposed to poor engineering and construction.
Purpose/Application
Power production.
Unique Aspect
Its failure in 1975 caused more casualties than any other dam failure in history at an estimated 171,000 deaths and 11 million displaced. The dam was subsequently rebuilt.
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