[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.

[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.

[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?