The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD): A Study

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The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia currently under construction. The dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed. The reservoir at 63 billion cubic meters will be one of the continent’s largest. The potential impacts of the dam have been the source of severe regional controversy. The dam could be at risk from damage by earthquakes, yet no one knows if it has even been analyzed for this risk, or the largest earthquake it is being designed to withstand. The failure of such a huge structure puts more than millions of people living downstream at risk. In dam safety programs and flood prediction, Hydrodynamic modelling of dam break modelling crucial tool to evaluate dam induced risk and to support emergency plan, optimizing response efforts and directing first response teams to damaged areas. However, a better understanding of flood predictability and model efficiency is needed before such systems can be effectively implemented.

An in-depth literature review on hydrodynamic modelling of GERD break ...

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