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Eugene -Springfield Area Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan 2. Hazard Descriptions After reviewing 90 dam failures dating from 1802 to 2015, only one was attributed to extreme weather. In 1986, a lightning strike caused electrical failures at two Upriver power plants in Spokane, Washington. The turbines stopped working, and water quickly rose behind the dam. Backup power systems failed, and spillway gates were not raised in time, causing the dam to be overtopped. The facility sustained almost $(1986)11.5 million in damages, but no reported fatalities. The subsequent investigation determined several design and operational errors contributed to the failure.43 As the Upriver Dam incident shows, a direct hit by an extreme weather incident could cause a dam or levee to fail though this is extremely rare. Risk of Impact Based on historical occurrences and the condition of dams and levees in and around the Eugene and Springfield area, the risk from an extreme weather induced failure is low. Epidemics Epidemics are not a known significant impact of an extreme weather incident. Hazardous Materials Hazardous material incidents can occur if weather incidents directly impact a hazardous material facility, or its operational components. Due to the limited scale of these weather incidents, response to such a HazMat situation would likely experience little to no interference. More information on HazMat spills and releases can be found in Appendix I. History of Impact in Eugene -Springfield There have been no incidents of hazardous material spills or releases in the aftermath of an extreme weather incident in Eugene or Springfield. Data collected throughout the United States shows tornadoes and thunderstorms do cause some HazMat incidents.44 A 2015 review of natech (natural hazard triggered technological disasters) incidents effecting the U.S. oil industry determined hail, 43 Hokenson, Reynold A., W. Lowell Shelton, William M. Verigin, George W. Miller, and Mallur R. Nandagopal. "Upriver Dam Hydroelectric Project Rehabilitation After Failure, Part A: Failure Investigation and Lessons to be Learned." Civil Engineering Database. January 01, 1988. Accessed November 30, 2017. http://cedb.asee.org/CEDBsearch/record.jsp?dockey-0055754 44 Turkey. Sengul, Hatice, Nicholas Santella, Laura J. Steinberg, and Ana Maria Cruz. "Analysis of hazardous material releases due to natural hazards in the United States." Disasters 36, no. 4 (2012): 723-743. Hacettepe University Department of Environmental Engineering. 2-27 January 2020