Abstract:Immediately after the Lushan M 7.0 earthquake occurred on April 20

2013 in Sichuan province

a field survey was conducted within the earthquake-stricken area to investigate the damages to dams and reservoirs caused by the earthquake. Based on the survey results

a preliminary damage evaluation of 9 selected reservoirs in Baoxing and Tianquan counties was also performed. Field survey indicated that typical damages to these dams included deformation and failure of subsidiary structures

dam seepage

and indirect damage caused by geological disasters such as landslides and collapse

whereas the main structures of most dams remained intact or largely intact. To further analyze potential risks to dams caused by the earthquake

the risk analysis method by Bureau (2003) was improved and employed to calculate the total seismic risks of 19 dams in the quake-hit areas. Improvement to Bureau (2003)’s method include modifications to dam height risk factor and downstream hazard factor based on dam construction

local economy

and population. Result indicated that the overall risk level of the dams in the earthquake-stricken area ranked moderate

which was consistent with the field investigation results. The total seismic risk analysis presented in the paper can be useful for further damage assessment and post-quake reinforcement of dams.