The Kantale Dam (, ) is a large embankment dam built in Kantale, Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka. It is long, and over high. The dam, used for irrigation, breached on , killing more than 120 people. It has since been reconstructed. The dam impounds the Per Aru, a small river discharging into the Koddiyar Bay, at Trincomalee Harbour.

Reservoir history

The tank was built by Kulakkottan (604-614 AD) and further developed by King Parakramabahu the Great. It was also known as Gangathala Vapi at the time. The reservoir has a catchment area of and a capacity of .

1986 Dam failure

On at 03:00 AM, the dam breached, sending a wall of water over the villages downstream. The floods killed approximately 120–180 people, destroyed over 1,600 houses and of paddy, affecting over 8,000 families. One of the main causes of the breach was said to be due to extra-heavy vehicles being driven over the dam.

References

External links

* Buildings and structures in Trincomalee District Dams in Sri Lanka Dam failures in Asia 1986 in Sri Lanka Man-made disasters in Sri Lanka 1986 disasters in Sri Lanka April 1986 in Sri Lanka {{Asia-dam-stub