Last month’s devastating earthquake continues to threaten the lives and homes of the people of Sichuan province. The deadly May 12 earthquake dramatically changed the landscape of the province. Landslides tumbled into riverbeds, blocking the flow of water and endangering the lives of those living downstream from these natural dams. The PLA and government engineers are frantically trying to drain Tangjiashan Lake in Sichuan, whose waters threaten over 1 million downstream residents, even as reports this morning suggest those efforts may be losing ground. Evacuations have begun but the struggle is now a race against both time and the awesome power of water flowing downhill.
History gives some indication of the catastrophic results should these efforts fail. In 1786, another earthquake rocked the province of Sichuan, causing a landslide that blocked the Dadu River. On this date (June 10) that dam gave way sending 50 million cubic tons of water surging through the river channel inundating farms, towns, and valleys. Over 100,000 people were killed, and the Dadu Flood of 1786 remains the deadliest ‘quake lake’ disaster in recorded history.
As always, our thoughts and prayers are with those in Sichuan who are grieving or homeless, as well of course with the men and women working to help the disaster victims and to prevent further damage and destruction. Jia you.
Update 6/11: Thankfully, the engineers and troops were able to create a system of channels to drain the lake. Good news for those downstream. The city of Beichuan, already devastated by the quake, was flooded by the waters, and those downstream were treated to the horror of bodies and debris picked up by the waters sweeping through Beichuan, but it appears that a true catastrophic failing of the natural dam holding back Tangjiashan Lake has been averted for the time being.
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*Sources and Further Reading:
Fred Pearce, “China faces quake lakes flood disaster: The earthquake is over but the danger isn’t, as water from monsoon rains builds up behind crumbling landslides and dams.” New Scientist (June 7, 2008), 8-9 (access via Lexis/Nexis)
Chanson, Hubert “The 1786 Earthquake-Triggered Landslide Dam and Subsequent Dam-Break Flood on the Dadu River, Southwestern China.” Geomorphology, 71 3-4: 437-440. (access via J-Stor)
1 response so far ↓
1 Redphilly // Jun 10, 2008 at 9:11 pm
If there is anyone out there who doesn’t know the truth about all the natural disasters that are happening, then they need to log on to Pastor Hagee’s website or any other evangelical website. The bible says these things will happen. Then when everyone has heard the gospel, then the end will come. I thought everyone had heard the gospel. Then just about 2 weeks ago, there were found a group of people who had not heard about it, living by themselves somewhere. This is not a fairy tale, folks. God says what He means and means what He says. There is going to be no escaping God Will. You can be a Buddist, Scientoligist, Islamic, or whatever. The Christian bible is the be all and end all. God says He is the Alpha and the Omega. The people of the world had better read the bible and understand what is happening and what is about to happen.
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