Category:Vajont disaster

English: On 9 October 1963, at 10:39 pm, a massive landslide of about 260 million m³ of forest, earth, and rock, which fell from the mount Toc into the dam basin at up to 110 km per hour (68 mph) completely filled up the narrow reservoir in front of the dam. The landslide was much faster than predicted, taking just 45 seconds, and the resulting displacement of water caused 50 million m³ of water to overtop the dam in a 250-metre-high (820 ft) wave. The flooding from the huge wave in the Piave valley destroyed the villages of Longarone, Pirago, Rivalta, Villanova, and Faè, killing around 2,000 people and turning the land below the dam into a flat plain of mud with an impact crater 60 metres deep and 80 wide. Many small villages near the landslide along the lakefront also suffered damage from a giant displacement wave. Villages in the territory of Erto and Casso and the village of Codissago (it), near Castellavazzo, were largely wrecked. Estimates of the dead range from 1,900 to 2,500 people, and about 350 families lost all members. Most of the survivors had lost relatives and friends along with their homes and belongings. The dam itself was largely undamaged, the top metre or so of masonry was washed away, but the basic structure remained intact and still exists today.