Events

Secondary damage: collapsed dams and flooding

Thanks to John P. Romankiewicz of China’s Green Beat for alerting me to this update on the aftermath of China’s quake

• “Fears over China dam sparks more panic“
  May 17, 2008
  CNN.com

Thousands of Chinese earthquake victims and rescuers are fleeing areas near the epicenter over fears of floods from a river blocked by landslides.

The stampede of thousands of people on Saturday afternoon came as Chinese officials said the official death toll from the earthquake had risen to 28,881 people with 198,347 injured.

Landslides caused by Monday’s quake had blocked the Qingzhu River in Qingchuan county, creating two lakes with fast-rising water levels, an official at the Guangyuan disaster relief center said.

Officials, worried that one or both of the lakes could burst, forced the evacuation of 10 villages and townships downriver, he said.

(Image via CNN.com)

• “China Earthquakes More Peril: Dam and Reservoir Collapse“
  May 17, 2008
  ChinaStakes.com

The 7.8 earthquake that shook Sichuan Province in the afternoon of May 12, killing an estimated 50,000, is posing a continuing threat as the untold damage to hydropower stations and reservoir dams upstream on the Min River (the Minjiang) becomes apparent. The Minjiang is a tributary of the Yangtze River….

The National Development and Reform Commission has revealed the destruction caused to water facilities by the earthquake. By 5pm, May 13, safety problems had been discovered at 391 reservoirs, including two big ones, 28 medium ones and 361 small ones, in Sichuan and other four provinces….

Sichuan has about 7,000 dams in its system, 70% of which were built in 1950s or 1960s, which now needs to be consolidated….

With its plentiful rivers, Sichuan (which in Mandarin means “four rivers) has a slew of hydropower stations. The drainage basins of the Jinsha, Yalong and Dadu Rivers are all important hydropower bases. At the end of 2007, the capacity of Sichuan hydropower stations amounted to 18.8 million kw, about 62% of Sichuan total electricity production capacity, and 13% of China’s hydropower capacity. In 2007 hydropower stations generated about 63% of Sichuan’s total generated power, a highest such percentage in China.

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