In Europe and elsewhere the economically feasible water resources have been greatly developed until the 1970s. motK}G
Although large dams belong to the first structures, which have been designed systematically against earthquakes Zgo~ "G
since the 1930s, the seismic safety of these dams is unknown, as most of them have been designed using seismic _cX}!d!j
design criteria and methods of analysis that are considered obsolete today. The fact that no major dams have A^>@6d $2
failed during earthquakes and that few lives have been lost (except in the case of tailings dam failures) may give @"-\e|[N
the impression that well-designed dams are safe against earthquakes. We need to re-evaluate the seismic safety 3R3H+W0{
of existing dams based on current state-of-the-art practice and rehabilitate existing dams if necessary. f9W:-00QD
Additionally, there are a large number of smaller dams, especially earth structures, which were built for ~w+I2oS$
irrigation or water supply by organisations or villagers with little experience in dam construction. Earthquake kFv*>>X`
effects on these dams have rarely been considered
