Troops rush to plug 'dangerous' cracks in dam

MSNBC ^ | 5-14-2008 | The Associated Press

[Westlander]

HANWANG, China - Chinese troops rushed to plug "extremely dangerous" cracks in a dam upriver from Dujiangyan, an earthquake-hit town, state media said Thursday.

[samson1097]

I’m not familiar with this dam in particular, but I have been hearing for years that with so many people living along rivers in China, millions could likely die.

May God help them.

[TexasRepublic]

I trust that China’s dams are as good quality as their consumer items.

[Travis McGee]

As help began to arrive in some of the hardest-to-reach areas, some victims trapped for more than two days under collapsed buildings were still being pulled out alive. But the enormous scale of the devastation meant that resources were stretched thin, and makeshift aid stations and refugee centers were springing up over the disaster area the size of Maryland. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted government officials as saying rescuers who hiked Wednesday into the city of Yingxiu in Wenchuan county — the epicenter of Monday's magnitude 7.9 quake — found it "much worse than expected." The survivors "desperately needed medical help, food and water," Xinhua said.

God help them.

[lesser_satan]

Yep. As much as I despise their government, there are innocent people suffering through no fault of their own.

[Travis McGee]

For every story of a victim pulled out after days of survival, probably a hundred initial survivors don’t.

How many languish even now, trapped, crushed, but alive?

[eraser2005]

Link to a map of the area:

http://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&q=31.00167,103.60528&ie=UTF8&ll=31.032895,103.576012&spn=0.01311,0.028667&z=16&iwloc=addr

This looks like a VERY substantial dam - approximately 2000 feet across at the top. Roughly the size of the Teton Dam, which collapsed in Idaho in 1976. Only there appear to be a LOT more people in the direct path.

If you scan SW, downriver from the dam, there is a city I would guess that would have at least on the order of 10-30,000 residents (no idea, just guessing from the area of the city). If you look at the terrain map, you will see that there is nowhere for any water to go other than to go through the city... it will not spread before reaching that town, if the dam does collapse.

This is NOT pretty.... I’m glad to see that the Chinese Army does seem to be throwing manpower at it - I just pray they’re evacuating people....

[SeaHawkFan]

I’d be surprised if the total dead does not reach 100,000.

[eraser2005]

It appears I may be terribly off on my estimate of the size of the city in the path - the only estimates include the surrounding countryside (”county-level city”), but the population is listed as approximately 600,000.....

[libo23]

about 11420 troopers moved to this area today.

[kittycatonline.com]

Chinese troops rushed to plug "extremely dangerous" cracks in a dam upriver from Dujiangyan, an earthquake-hit town, state media said Thursday.

These folks are just getting pounded with misery. But how is sending a bunch of troops going to fix a dam? I mean, if it's 2000 feet wide and showing huge cracks, wouldn't those soldiers be better used to evacuate the city below?

I'm also thinking, if the water is pushing on one side and the dam is bulging, and somebody crams in material into the crack from the dry side, wouldn't that have the same effect as a log splitting wedge?

[Dick Bachert]

Wait until the Three Gorges dam lets go...

[libs_kma]

I have been looking for information about the 3 Gorges Damn in this whole episode.

I recall a Nat Geo special on that damn that engineers were concerned that the massive water weight backed up by that damn could cause earthquakes in the area, however I haven't seen a sniff of a report that it may be related.

Makes me wonder if a CYA operation is in effect.

That being said, I agree that the chinese government is pathetic where human rights are concerned but I sympathise with the people who are put in danger by that government.

[Dick Bachert]

Wait until the Three Gorges dam lets go...

[cmdjing]

That is the Zipingpu dam that was only recently completed in 2006, it is unfortunately almost exactly on top (about 10 miles away) from the epicenter of the earthquake. The power station of the dam had been leveled though the dam is still intact. Spillways have already been opened and the reservoir behind the dam is being drained to relieve pressure on the dam.

This dam was somewhat contraversial to begin with because some complained about the lack of environmental impact studies and the fact that it was on top an earthquake prone area. The naysayers were right to be skeptical in that an earthquake did happen, but was apparently built sturdy enough to weather 7.9 magntitude earthquake at it’s epicenter without collapsing. It’s been two and a half days since the primary tremor and if it has survived it and multiple 6.0+ aftershocks then there is hope that the reservoir can be drained and repairs made so as to prevent another catastrophe.

[Tomato lover]

Thank you for that link. The full scope of the danger didn’t hit me until I panned farther out and saw the body of water behind that dam. There will be nothing left below if it does break. The thought of the loss of life is staggering. There but for the Grace of Almighty God, go we.

Regards, TL

[cmdjing]

Here is a picture of the dam itself.

The army units sent to "plug" the dam is likely media ignorance/incompetence. I believe that the soldiers sent were likely engineering units sent to clear spillways that may have been blocked by landslides caused by the earthquake.

[Westlander]

http://usparks.about.com/cs/parkhistory/a/johnstownflood.htm

[agere_contra]

The 3 Gorges catchment is definitely heavy enough to cause earthquakes in its own right, but they would be local faults. It’s not going to cause earthquakes hundreds of miles away. I guess this was a tectonic event, not weight faulting from 3 Gorges.

Hmm, the Zipingpu dam is apparently holding back 1.112 billion cubic meters of water. That’s about 1 cubic meter of freezing water for every person in China. Strewth.