While dams offer substantial benefits, they also present considerable risks in the event of failure,
particularly in light of increasing climate change concerns. Policymakers and risk assessors are
therefore intensifying efforts to enhance risk assessment practices and implement preventative
measures. A comprehensive understanding of the impacts associated with dam failures is critical
to improving these efforts and supporting evidence-based policy development. Although previous
studies have examined various impacts and some have attempted to integrate them within the
context of sustainability, a unified and realistic framework capturing both the short-term and longterm consequences, along with sustainability pillars interdependencies, has remained absent. To
address this gap, this study was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, the initial version of
the impact framework based on a systematic review of the literature was developed. In the second
stage, the framework was enhanced and expanded using artificial intelligence and data mining
techniques to ensure depth, accuracy, and relevance. In the third stage, the framework was
validated through a real-world case study: the Fundão Dam failure in Brazil. The resulting
comprehensive framework enables systematic comparison and analysis of dam failure impacts,
highlights under-researched areas, and provides a practical tool for decision-makers to prioritize
interventions and formulate targeted policies grounded in the significance of each impact.
