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Dam Safety

Earthquakes Triggered by Dams

Sichuan earthquake damages building, 14 May 2008 (Miniwiki)

Sichuan earthquake damages building, 14 May 2008 (Miniwiki)

Earthquakes can be induced by dams. Globally, there are over 100 identified cases of earthquakes that scientists believe were triggered by reservoirs (see Gupta 2002). The most serious case may be the 7.9-magnitude Sichuan earthquake in May 2008, which killed an estimated 80,000 people and has been linked to the construction of the Zipingpu Dam.

Global Dam Safety and Security Challenges

By Katy Yan

Originally published in Volume 10 Number 4 of the The CIP Report
Center for Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security (CIP/HS)
George Mason University, School of Law

Sinohydro denies dam unsafe

Some workers on Malaysia's biggest dam, due to open next year, claim concrete is being diluted with water - and passing quality tests

By Toh Han Shih
Updated on Jun 20, 2011
Published in The South China Morning Post

Sinohydro, China's biggest dam builder, has rejected accusations it used unsafe construction methods to build Malaysia's Bakun dam, but acknowledges its construction processes did not fully adhere to correct procedures.

China's Nu River Hangs in the Balance, Part 3

By: 
Katy Yan

This is part three of a three-part blog describing my recent trip to the Nu River valley in April 2011. All names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees. Part 1 sets the scene and Part 2 introduces voices from the ground.

Where to Go From Here?

The Nu River from above (Katy Yan)

The Nu River from above (Katy Yan)

We ended our journey with a trip to the top of a mountain. Among the clouds, at an organic tea farm set among the foothills of the Himalayas, I had a perfect view of the Nu River as it meandered through the mountains.

Many mountain towns have been relocated by the government to (sometimes literally) soulless assembly-line houses by the river-some say as a form of better state control. Some villages have managed to stay, including this one. Up there in the clouds and away from the threat of dam-building, like the mountain hermits of ancient scroll paintings, we lost ourselves for a moment in our own personal reveries about the fate of the Nu valley below.

China's Nu River Hangs in the Balance, Part 1

By: 
Katy Yan

This is part one of a three-part blog describing my recent trip to the Nu River valley in April 2011. All names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees. Part 2 introduces the voices from the ground and Part 3 discusses the Nu River's future.

The Nu River's first bend in northern Yunnan Province, China (Green Watershed)

The Nu River's first bend in northern Yunnan Province, China (Green Watershed)

As a Chinese American growing up in the US, I saw China's mountains, rivers and valleys through my mom's traditional scroll paintings. Idyllic villages and small cottages dot green mountainsides of bamboo, pine, and palm.

My recent journey to the Nu River valley, also known as the Nujiang da xiagu ("Nu River Grand Canyon"), was nothing like stepping into one of these paintings.

China’s Government Proposes New Dam Building Spree

Baoshan Village on the upper Yangtze River (Li Hong)

Baoshan Village on the upper Yangtze River (Li Hong)

Under its new Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government proposes to build 130-140 gigawatts of new hydropower plants. This equals more than one new Three Gorges Dam every year for the next five years, and is more than any other country has built in its entire history.

The latest dam burst in northeast Brazil

The latest dam burst in northeast BrazilLeo Caldas/Revista Veja
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A Flood of Dam Safety Problems

by Lori Pottinger

The catastrophic flooding in Pakistan provides a terrifying warning of how global warming is changing the hydrological cycle. Almost every month seems to bring unprecedented rainstorms and floods somewhere across the world, and their severity and frequency seems to be rapidly worsening. These floods pose a major threat to the world's dams, and to the many millions of people who live below them. Here we report on a few of the worst examples of dam-induced flooding in recent months.