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Safety First? Lessons from the Hapcheon Dam Flood in 2020

Author

Listed:
  • Taesam Lee

    (Department of Civil Engineering, ERI, Gyeongsang National University, 501 Jinju-daero, Jinju 52828, Korea)

  • Kiyoung Seong

    (Dam and Harbor Safety Office, Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety, 16 Sadeul-ro, 123beon-gil, Jinju 52852, Korea)

  • Seung Oh Lee

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hongik University, 94 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04066, Korea)

  • Hyung Ju Yoo

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hongik University, 94 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul 04066, Korea)

Abstract

Floods change the living environment and threaten public health, while dam construction has often been made to protect and mitigate floods. Meanwhile, an exceptionally high outflow, five times higher than the maximum historical outflow, was discharged on 8 August 2020 from the Hapcheon Dam (HCD), which is located at the middle of the Hwang River, South Korea. As a result, the 2020 flood event occurred in the downstream area, flooding the villages located downstream of the HCD, and damaging agricultural and residential areas. The current study investigates the cause of the flood and how the outflow affected the downstream area. The investigation showed that the Hwang River and the streams connected to the Hwang River experienced piping and overflow in several levees downstream. The frequency analysis of the rainfall upstream and the inflow to the HCD illustrated that the rainfall return periods are only 5–30 years for different durations. The return period of inflow to the HCD was only approximately five years. Sustaining a high-water level before the flooding season for future environmental use caused an exceptionally high outflow. Lowering the water level might have prevented damage to the downstream area. The 2020 flood event provided an imperative lesson to water managers and policymakers, demonstrating that the HCD and downstream safety must be prioritized over water conservation for environmental use.

Suggested Citation

  • Taesam Lee & Kiyoung Seong & Seung Oh Lee & Hyung Ju Yoo, 2022. "Safety First? Lessons from the Hapcheon Dam Flood in 2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2975-:d:763737
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Rawshan Ali & Alban Kuriqi & Shadan Abubaker & Ozgur Kisi, 2019. "Hydrologic Alteration at the Upper and Middle Part of the Yangtze River, China: Towards Sustainable Water Resource Management Under Increasing Water Exploitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Olayinka Azeez & Amro Elfeki & Ahmed Samy Kamis & Anis Chaabani, 2020. "Dam break analysis and flood disaster simulation in arid urban environment: the Um Al-Khair dam case study, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 100(3), pages 995-1011, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Xin Yang & Yan Xiang & Guangze Shen & Meng Sun, 2022. "A Combination Model for Displacement Interval Prediction of Concrete Dams Based on Residual Estimation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, November.

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