page_title: Rhine–Main–Danube Canal
section_title: 1979 damburst at Katzwang
hierarchical_section_title: Rhine–Main–Danube Canal / 1979 damburst at Katzwang
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bild der Gedenktafel zum Dammbruch des de:Main-Donau-Kanals bei Katzwang. English: Picture of the memorial tablet for the dam failure in the en:Rhine–Main–Danube Canal at Katzwang.
context_page_description: The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, in Bavaria, Germany, connects the Main and the Danube rivers across the European Watershed, running from Bamberg via Nuremberg to Kelheim. The canal connects the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea, providing a navigable artery between the Rhine delta, and the Danube Delta in south-eastern Romania and south-western Ukraine. The present canal was completed in 1992 and is 171 kilometres long.
context_section_description: The construction work was interrupted on 26 March 1979 by a serious accident in the Nuremberg district of Katzwang. A dam broke on the Eibach–Schwanstetten section, which was still under construction but already flooded. About 350,000 cubic metres (12,000,000 cu ft) of water poured through the 15-metre (49 ft) wide hole and flooded large parts of old Katzwang.
  The force of the water was so great that it dug a 10-metre (33 ft) wide crater and swept away cars, people and houses. During the rescue operations, a 12-year-old girl died. The damage was around DM 24 million (converted c. 12 million euros).
  After the disaster, the entire canal line was checked for weaknesses and retrofitted at critical points.
caption: Memorial to the dam break in the Main-Danube Canal at Katzwang
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