400 dams in China damaged, dammit

The New York Times reports that 400 dams were damaged in the Sichuan earthquake. One dam upriver from Dujiangyan, one of the hardest-hit cities, has "dangerous cracks."

The New York Times reports that some 400 dams were damaged in Monday's gargantuan earthquake in Sichuan. Soldiers have been sent to try to plug dangerous cracks in one dam in particular, the Zigpingpu dam, upstream from the heavily-damaged city of Dujiangyan.

Four hundred dams. I was in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake. We lived in the south end of the San Fernando Valley, and so were not among the 300,000 people who had to evacuate the northern end following the quake because of damage to the Lower Van Norman dam. (Valley residents were very lucky: water authorities were able to drain the basin quickly enough to prevent it from failing. Damage to the dam -- cracked and displaced slabs on the dam's interior structure -- was visible for many, many months afterwards.)

I also had the opportunity to take a cruise on the Yangtze River in 2002, shortly before the Three Gorges Dam was completed: we wanted to see the Lesser Gorges and other places that would soon be underwater forever after. It was sobering to see the line that the Chinese government had marked all along the canyon walls and on buildings in riverside cities and towns: everything below the red line would be underwater, including countless acres of rich, arable land. Millions of Chinese people were displaced.

And as we approached the site of the immense dam itself -- truly the largest structure I have ever seen -- all of the reports critical about the dam's controversial placement and construction were very much on my mind. The volume of water is staggering to consider: with a surface area of 1084 square miles, the reservoir capacity is 1.39 trillion cubic feet. Should the Three Gorges dam fail, some estimates put the number of outright casualties downstream at upwards of 10 million, with tens of millions more affected thereafter by pollution, disease, and starvation. Currently, thankfully, so far no damage to the Three Gorges dam has been reported.

China has already suffered catastrophic dam failure in its history: During Typhoon Nina in August, 1975, a series of sixty-two (62!) dams failed (or were destroyed intentionally) on the Ru River system in Henan Province. Per Wikipedia, 26,000 people died outright, with 115,000 dying from secondary effects; nearly 6 million buildings were destroyed. In all, more than 11 million people were affected.

It is not clear at this point if any of the 400 affected dams will collapse in Sichuan, although aftershocks will continue to weaken those already damaged. It is certain, however, that should a major dam fail upstream, the water released would cause other dams downstream to fail, with catastrophic consequences for any towns and cities along the rivers. Let us all hope that Sichaun's tragedy will not be compounded.

•  Tip jar. n/t

  by mofembot on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:15:03 AM PDT

•  I was reading about the dam earlier

  and was nearly in tears.  Oddly enough, CNN has an article on it.  I tried BBC but couldn't find it yet.  Three Gorges is 600 miles away, so the effect was much less.  

  Shanghaiist has lots of good info as well.

  by oortdust on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:23:54 AM PDT

•  From Shanghai Daily

  Some good news

  THE 2,000-year-old Dujiangyan irrigation system in Sichuan Province remained intact throughout the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on Monday while most other key historic sites in the region only received minor damage.

  The Dujiangyan system was constructed in 256 BC in Sichuan's Dujiangyan City, one of the worst-hit places. Its earthquake-proof design protected it well and it is still functioning today, the Oriental Morning Post reported today.

  The irrigation system is the oldest in the world and the only dam-less project still distributing water from the Minjiang River to farmland on the Chengdu Plain in Sichuan. The area has a population of more than 10 million today.

  by platypus on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:28:02 AM PDT

•  Mother Nature

  Is letting her displeasure with mankind show, and unfortunately, the ones who take it in the shorts are usually not the ones at which she should be displeased, just the easiest ones to take it out on.

  by drbloodaxe on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:34:00 AM PDT

•  Look on the bright side

  Chinese are better informed and better educated now than they've ever been.

  And their middle class is on the rise.

  So - for the first time in their history - a major calamity has cast the light of day on shoddy, corrupt historical (and clearly in many cases present) construction practices and how they are killing Chinese people (particularly children).

  This has to give the Communist Party some pause.  That's an awful lot of angry, grieving people, plus tens of millions more very well-informed and just as angry and now fearful people, and not all can be suppressed forever.

  I think we may see some movement here in China.  Let's keep our fingers crossed for some improved transparency and accountability.

  by CA Libertarian on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:34:12 AM PDT

  •  Yes, lots of media outlets

    have been commenting on the unusual level of transparency and cooperation with the press that the Chinese government has displayed wrt this disaster. Such a contrast with Burma, alas.

    by mofembot on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:40:03 AM PDT

  •  on a laowai blog I read this...

    Qiu Hou Suan Zhang

    Which loosely translates as:

    "We'll get the numbers straight after the harvest ..."

    I think once everything calms down some heads will definitely be rolling, particularly since construction contracts are more localized and this press makes the national Chinese government lose face with the world.

    by platypus on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:42:15 AM PDT

    •  Also for Chinese firms to work internationally

      in construction or civil engineering - these concerns must be resolved on the home front and integrity assured.

      Again, economic engagement with China will lead to further democratization on the home front.  It's not always a pretty process, but it generally works.

      by CA Libertarian on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:46:35 AM PDT

•  Pls. rec this diary

  Thanks for the heads up on this frightening situation in China.

  I too lived in CA during significant earthquakes, and fear for a major catastrophe in the Sacramento Delta area if an earthquake compromises California's water resources. Of course contractors still prevail in the region thanks to our criminal campaign resource system. This region is now #1 on the list of potential domestic disasters since New Orleans. But where is government with the will to shore up the wetlands and mount an emergency plan to protect the region and the state?

  Due to the environmental catastrophes that are affecting many countries in the world, including our own, we need a forward thinking president and congress to take the U.S. back into the world community. These catastrophes have a major political component, as those on this site are well aware. We are all affected and will need shared technology, etc. in addressing these disasters with governments throughout the world.

  by DorothyT on Wed May 14, 2008 at 10:41:45 AM PDT

•  Dujiangyan river system

  is one of the most fantastic creations of ancient China...

  I am terrified at the prospect of the Zipingpu dam upstream failing. The dam is only 2 years old. Compared that to the river system that still stands from the time of Christ.

  So many people downstream... I pray they prepare to move people quickly to safety if need be.

  by beijingbetty on Wed May 14, 2008 at 08:32:52 PM PDT