Behavior of Dams during the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu Earthquake and Earthquake Resistance of Dams

The Hyogoken-Nambu Earthquake of January 17, 1995 inflicted severe damage in the Hanshin and Awaji areas such as has never been seen in Japan in recent years. The safety inspections of the dams conducted in the area by site offices and dam experts immediately after the earthquake showed that there was no damage affecting the safety of the dams although slight damage was observed in several dams. The investigation also revealed that the peak accelerations at dam sites were much smaller than those at soil sites. The Ministry of construction organized the Committee on Evaluattion of Earthquake Resistance of Dams after the earthquake. The Committee confirmed through dynamic analysis that the dams designed in accordance with the present design criteria in Japan are safe under the magnitude of shaking that occurred close the source fault of the Hyogoken-Nambu Earthquake.