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An environmental disaster occurred when a massive landslide hit one of the world's tallest dams.
At the time it was built, the Vajont Dam was the tallest in the world. The roughly 850-foot-tall structure was an impressive feat of engineering. But its initial glory took a tragic turn a few short years later during one of the worst anthropogenic environmental disasters of its era. 340 million cubic yards of rock toppled from the top of Monte Toc at up to 68 miles per hour. This megatsunami caused the water to surge to catastrophic proportions. It crashed over the barricade, destroying several villages in the valley and killing about 2,000 people. Entire families perished. Longarone, the largest village, was hit the hardest.
