Sichuan Earthquake Damages Dams

Zipingpu Dam, Sep. 14, 2007 (AP Photo/GeoEye Satellite Image)

The tragic Sichuan Earthquake of May 12, 2008, which killed an estimated 80,000 civilians, also damaged hundreds of dams in Sichuan Province. Soon after the earthquake struck, the Chinese government reported that at least 391 dams had been damaged in the quake, including major cracks on the largest dam in the area, the Zipingpu Dam. Since then, the Ministry of Water Resources has reported that as many as 2,380 dams were damaged in the earthquake.

According to the State-run Xinhua News Agency, the Zipingpu Dam on the Min River experienced "extremely dangerous" cracks, along with a collapsed powerhouse and other associated facilities. Seismologists from China's Earthquake Bureau had warned the government back in 2000 that the project should not be built given its proximity to a major fault line, yet these warnings were ignored. The government later reported that its experts had inspected the dam and declared it safe, although it is not clear exactly how thorough the inspections have been.

Despite the risks posed to millions of inhabitants downstream if a large dam were to break, the Chinese government continues to build scores of dams in the country's most earthquake-prone region, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces in southwest China. In light of the damages to the dams, mainland experts, environmental groups, and activists have issued an open letter to the authorities. The letter calls for thorough risk assessments of all large hydropower projects in this region before companies are allowed to go forward with construction.

Follow these links for more information about the earthquake and the damage to the Zipingpu and other dams:

• Engineers Face Testing Times as Thousands Flee Dam Threat, Financial Times
  
• China Considers Earthquake Danger of Dams, The Los Angeles Times
• Temblor Throws Shadow on Big Dam Ambitions, IPS
  
• Greens Demand Halt to 'Feverish' Dam Building, Financial Times
  
• China Plays Down Dam Failure Concerns, Financial Times
  
• International Rivers on NPR's “To The Point” about China Quake
  
• China: Troops Rush to Plug Dam Cracks, Associated Press
  
• China: Dam Feared Quake-Damaged Safe, CNN
• Chinese Dams Compromised by Earthquake; Authorities On Alert, Probe International
  
• Map of Zipingpu Dam's location in relation to epicenter, BBC News
  
• Video of Zipingpu Dam inspection, BBC News
• Rescue Effort Overwhelms China, The Wall Street Journal