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.
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.....
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.