Behaviour of embankment dams in earthquakes

Severe earthquakes have occurred in recent years in various countries including China, Indonesia, Haiti, New Zealand, Chile, Pakistan and Japan. These have led to catastrophic events including tsunamis, severe damage and heavy loss of life.
Dams have generally behaved well in earthquakes and, although a number have suffered damage, the consequences have been relatively modest. This paper aims to look at the historical behaviour of dams in earthquakes and its relevance to dam engineering in UK where future earthquakes are not expected to exceed Magnitude 6.0. Nevertheless, if occurring at shallow depth, such an earthquake could be quite damaging and could give rise to peak ground accelerations in excess of 0.3g.
The paper considers the 1991 BRE Guide to seismic risk to dams in the United Kingdom in the light of ICOLD Bulletin 148 (Selecting Seismic Parameters for Large Dams) which was approved at the Hanoi meeting in 2010.