Val di Stava dam collapse

Val di Stava dam collapse
Date19 July 1985; 39 years ago (1985-07-19)
LocationStava, Trentino, Italy
TypeDam failure
Deaths268
Suspects10 charged
VerdictGuilty
ConvictionsCulpable disaster and multiple manslaughter

The Val di Stava Dam collapse occurred on 19 July 1985, when two tailings dams above the village of Stava, near Tesero, Italy, failed. It resulted in one of Italy's worst disasters, killing 268 people, destroying 63 buildings and demolishing eight bridges.

The upper dam broke first, leading to the collapse of the lower dam. Around 180,000 cubic metres (6,350,000 ft³) of mud, sand, and water were released into the Rio di Stava valley and toward the village of Stava at a speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). Having crashed through the village, the torrent continued until it reached the Avisio River a further 4.2 km (2.6 mi) away, destroying everything in its path.[1]

  1. ^ F. Luino and J. V. De Graff (2012). "The Stava mudflow of 19 July 1985 (Northern Italy): a disaster that effective regulation might have prevented" (PDF). Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 12 (4). Copernicus Publications: 1030–1042. Bibcode:2012NHESS..12.1029L. doi:10.5194/nhess-12-1029-2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.