World's Biggest Structural Failure That Killed Thousands In China​- Know About It

The Banqiao Dam built on River Ru in China had collapsed catastrophically under the influence of Typhoon Nina in August 1975. The havoc affected a population of nearly 10.15 million with the death toll ranging between 26,000 to 240,000.

The flood engulfed more than 6.8 million houses in its wrath as the Chinese government decided to hide the details of the disaster until the 1990s. The incident originally occurred during the 'Cultural Revolution' in China when the people of the country were busy with the revolution.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Qian Zheng, Minister of Water Resources of China, revealed that the disaster's details to the public for the first time. The Dam that collapsed in Typhoon Nina was constructed with the help of experts from the Soviet Union. The dam's construction intensely focused on retaining water but abysmally overlooked its capacity to hold water. The poor handling of the disaster by the government of China resulted in casualties. In May 2005, the disaster was rated number 1 in the top 10 Technological disasters of the world.

The History

The construction of the Banqiao Dam began in the 1950s in Zhumadian's Henan Province. The dam was constructed under the long-term project 'Harness the Huai River' to utilize the water for irrigation and electricity.

At the time of construction of the damn, the workers had no idea of building a strong reservoir, and therefore, experts from the Soviet Union supervised the construction. After the completion of the dam, it was known as 'The Iron Dam'.

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