| Kantale Dam | |
| Location Map: | Sri Lanka |
| Coordinates: | 8.3611°N 80.9914°W |
| Country: | Sri Lanka |
| Location: | Kantale |
| Purpose: | I |
| Status: | O |
| Owner: | Mahaweli Authority |
| Dam Type: | E |
| Dam Crosses: | Per Aru |
| Dam Length: | 14000feet |
| Dam Height Foundation: | 50feet |
| Res Name: | Kantale Reservoir |
The Kantale Dam (Sinhala; Sinhalese: කන්තලේ වැව|translit=Kantaḷe Wewa, Tamil: கந்தளாய் அணை|translit=Kantaḷāy Aṇai) is a large embankment dam built in Kantale, Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka. It is 14000feet long, and over 50feet high. The dam, used for irrigation, breached on, killing more than 120 people.[1] It has since been reconstructed. The dam impounds the Per Aru, a small river discharging into the Koddiyar Bay, at Trincomalee Harbour.
The tank was built by King Aggabodhi II (604-614 AD) and further developed by King Parakramabahu the Great.[2] It was also known as Gangathala Vapi at the time. The reservoir has a catchment area of 216km2 and a capacity of 135e6m3.[3]
On 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 2000acres 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.[4] [5]