THIS ISSUE: Our inclusion of the topic of flood management in this issue (see p57) is timely, as large regions of Australia begin the reconstruction effort after devastating flooding in December and January. The floods, described in our news section, caused the loss of at least 30 lives, and widespread devastation, estimated to have cost the country up to A$30 billion. Our special supplement on Australasia features a number projects in Australia which have included the increasing of spillway discharge capacity to enhance safety. The cover picture of Googong dam reflects how timely such upgrade schemes have proved to be. This issue has a main regional focus on Asia, with project descriptions from India, China and Pakistan. The behaviour of dams in major earthquakes is another topic covered; two world experts on this subject from Japan report on the performance of dams of different types (a CFRD and a clay core rockfill dam) during the major Iwate-Miyage earthquake of 2008.
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