FUJINUMA DAM • Traveled 6 miles inland
• Covered approximately 217 square
HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS
Type of Dam: Embankment Dam
Location: Southern Fukushima Prefecture
Maximum Height: 18.5 meters
Reservoir Capacity: 1.5 million cubic meters
Also called: Fujinuma-ike
Construction Began: 1937
Construction Completed: 1949
Two embankment dams retaining the
reservoir:
 18.5 m-High Main Dam
 Crest Length: 133.0 meters
 Crest Width: 6.0 meters
 6.0 m-High Auxiliary Dam
Date of Failure: March 11, 2011
“There are no currently no drawings available
writings to detail the design and construction of
the dam.”
TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE
Magnitude: 9.0-9.1 in Richter’s Scale
When: March 11,2011 14:46 (JST)
Epicenter: 70 kilometres (43 mi) East of
the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku
Tohoku Tsunami
• Occurred 200km off the coast and
took 10-15 minutes to reach the
shore
• Tsunami reached North and South
American and stretched all the way
From Alaska to Chile
• Triggered warnings in over 50
countries
• Highest waves were recorded at
38.9 meters
miles
CAUSES OF FAILURE
Breach resulting from a slope stability
failure.
a) Weak foundation
b) Non-homogeneous fill
c) Not heavily compacted
d) Very strong seismic shaking
e) High reservoir water level
f) Occurred soon after the
earthquake
ANALYSIS OF TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE EFFECT
TO THE FUJINUMA DAM
Failure in Main dam
- Earthquake force pushed the toe of
the dam that forced the soil in the embankment
dam to topple. Thus, allowing the water to
overtop the dam. The failure in overtopping
further destroyed the main dam completely.
Failure in Saddle dam
- The failure in the main dam caused
the water in the reservoir to quickly decrease,
leaving the hydraulic pressure within the soil of
the saddle dam. This failure is called Rapid
Drawdown.
POSSIBLE REHABILITATION METHODS
Proposed Methods:
a) Adding downstream berms
b) Increasing freeboard
c) Enlarging a dam
d) Replacing improper soil
e) Enhancing drainage system
f) Reinforcing with Geogrid