Kantale Dam

The Kantale Dam (කන්තලේ වැව, கந்தளாய் அணை) is a large embankment dam built in Kantale, Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka. It is 14000 ft long, and over 50 ft high. The dam, used for irrigation, breached on April 20, 1986, killing more than 120 people. It has since been reconstructed. The dam impounds the Per Aru, a small river discharging into the Koddiyar Bay, at Trincomalee Harbour.

Reservoir history
The tank was built by King Aggabodhi II (604-614 AD) and further developed by King Parakramabahu the Great. It was also known as Gangathala Vapi at the time. The reservoir has a catchment area of 216 km2 and a capacity of 135 e6m3.

1986 Dam failure
On April 20, 1986 at 03:00 AM, the dam breached, sending a wall of water over the villages downstream. The floods killed approximately 120–180 people, destroyed over 1,600 houses and 2,000 acres of paddy, affecting over 8,000 families. One of the main causes of the breach was said to be due to extra-heavy vehicles being driven over the dam.