Kariba Dam undamaged after earth tremors

by WELLINGTON TONI 
Zimbabwe Bureau Chief
HARARE, (CAJ News) – KARIBA Dam has not suffered any damage from the two tremors that recently hit the area surrounding this world’s largest man-made lake and reservoir, it has been confirmed.

Elizabeth Karonga, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) Public Relations and Communications Manager, said assessments revealed no structural damage.

“The tremors of this magnitude do not affect the structural integrity of the dam,” she said.

The magnitudes were 4.0 and occurred on the evenings of April 1 and 2.

They are referred to as load-induced tremors and are a result of the earth’s crust’s response to the water load or weight of water given the size of the dam.

The dam was inspected on April 2 and 3.

“The dam instrumentation data was analysed and showed that the dam was not affected which was also corroborated by the visual inspections of the dam which showed no structural damage,” Karonga confirmed.

However, as a precaution, the Kariba Dam is inspected after each event and the instruments record analyses for any anomalous behaviour irrespective of the magnitude.

The epicentre of the April 1 earthquake was approximately 3km southwest of the Spurwing Island Lodge or 27km south of the dam.

The epicentre of the April 2 earthquake was around 65km east of the dam wall.

Located on the Zambezi River, Kariba is the world’s largest man-made water reservoir.

– CAJ News