Water Education Foundation
This is just one post in the International Water Issues Category
Click here to view all posts

China considers earthquake danger of dams; their presence has complicated rescue and recovery efforts; some even say that dams can cause quakes

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 28, 2008 at 5:55 am

From the Los Angeles Times:

Mao Tse-tung famously declared “man must conquer nature,” and his political heirs have followed his dictum zealously by building dams and other gigantic projects that have altered the landscape of China. But this month’s deadly earthquake may tilt the balance of public opinion in favor of a more cautious and environmentally conscious approach to such development.

China has more dams than any other country, about half of the world’s total, and the presence of so many near the epicenter in Sichuan province has been a huge complication in the quake’s aftermath. After two weeks of downplaying the problem, the Water Resources Ministry acknowledged Sunday that 69 reservoirs and dams were on the verge of collapse, and nearly 3,000 in China had sustained damage.

The threat of flash floods from dams and “quake lakes” formed from landslides blocking rivers has forced tens of thousands of already traumatized quake survivors to relocate, some more than once. The dams also prevented rescue workers from navigating the rivers to reach victims in areas made inaccessible after roads were washed out.

Many Chinese hold the mystical view that natural disasters are the result of human failings and point to the widespread construction of dams as a possible culprit. The Min River, a tributary of the Yangtze that runs through the path of destruction, is one of the most dammed rivers in the country. “Chinese ancient culture has a philosophy of a cohesive connection between people and nature. What we did to that river shows no respect for nature, and now nature is taking its revenge,” said Ai Nanshan, a professor of environmental sciences at Sichuan University in Chengdu.

It is not pure superstition. Geologists have long warned of the danger of building dams in earthquake-prone locations. Not only can the structures collapse, but some temblors — most famously one in 1967 in Koyna, India — also are believed to have been triggered by the weight of a dam’s reservoir.

“We don’t want to appear to benefit from human catastrophe by pushing an agenda, but we are making information about earthquakes and dams available,” said Peter Bradford, an official with International Rivers Network, a Berkeley environmental group. Bradford said that three people he met on a visit to Beijing this week separately predicted that the Chinese government would reconsider its aggressive dam-building program.

This article was posted yesterday evening and already - 342 comments! Find out more about the earthquake’s effect on China’s many dams from the Los Angeles Times by clicking here.

May 28, 2008 · Filed Under International Water Issues

Comments

Leave a Reply