Misfortunate Monday: The Banqiao Dam Failure

     Hello everybody and welcome back to another edition of Global History Hub! I'll be your host, Mr. Nations, your tour guide to this massive world we all call home! On today's edition of Misfortunate Monday, we'll be taking a look at the failure of the Banqiao Dam, along with dozens of other dams. Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dive straight into it!

     The 1975 Banqiao Dam collapse was the collapse of sixty-two dams including the Banqiao Dam, the largest dam in Henan, China. The dams collapsed due to the enormous Typhoon Nina of 1975. The collapses resulted in the third deadliest flood in history which affected a total of 10.15 million people and severely overwhelmed around thirty cities and counties, impacting a total of around 3 million acres.

     Oddly enough, the dams that collapsed were built with the help of experts from the Soviet Union. The construction of the dams emphasized the goal of retaining water and overlooked their capacities to handle floods. It didn't help that the quality of the dams was compromised during the Great Leap Forward in China. Experts also note that the Great Leap Forward severely damaged the surrounding ecosystem and forests in the region.

     It is thought that the government's response to the crisis was in direct correlation with the death toll and the structures and buildings destroyed. In 2005, the Banqiao Dam Failure was rated No. 1 in "The Ultimate 10 Technological Disasters" of the world by the Discovery Channel.

     Fun Facts: 

• 6.8 million homes were destroyed during the disaster.
• The Banqiao Dam Failure was rated above the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster in terms of deadliness.
• Engineer Chen Xing raised concerns about the quality of the dams, but he was ignored. 

     Banqiao Dam Failure:

     

     Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Banqiao_Dam_failure