Projects are strong enough to withstand a rare “thousand year” earthquake, say China Three Gorges Corporation officials: “no need to worry”. Experts beg to differ.
Posted by thepaper.cn (www.thepaper.cn) on May 21, 2015
The Chinese-language version of this article was translated into English by Probe International
Chinese enterprises have built hydro dams in Nepal and in China’s seismically active regions in China, and now the powerful earthquake that occurred in Nepal [on April 25, 2015] has reignited concerns about dam safety both in and outside of China.
Zhai En, Chief Engineer of Civil Infrastructure and Director of Chief Engineer’s Office for China Three Gorges Corporation, said that the construction of hydropower projects by the Three Gorges Group in Nepal will continue as planned.
“No country in the world can reduce seismic risk to zero but most Chinese-built dams are built to withstand the largest earthquakes that strike only every ten thousand years, which people don’t need to worry about,” he said in an interview with the Shanghai-based ThePaper.cn at the World Hydropower Congress in Beijing on May 20.
“From the preliminary assessment made by our staff before their withdrawal (from Nepal), the three hydro projects by the Three Gorges Group in Nepal have not been significantly affected, but we will do more detailed assessments on these projects before resuming the construction for the safety consideration,” Zhai added.
The Three Gorges Group is currently building three hydro projects in Nepal — the Upper Madi, Upper Trishuli 3A and Rasuwagadhi dams. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred on April 25 killed two company workers. All remaining workers returning to China the same day.
When interviewed, Fan Xiao, geologist and former chief engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau, said that Nepal, northern India, Bhutan, and South Tibet all belong to the Himalayan seismic activity zone, where building hydro dams is risky. The larger the project, he claims, the greater the risks and secondary disasters will be.
Yang Yong, geologist and director of the Hengduan Mountain Research Institute, agreed, pointing out that the the area around the Tibet-Nepal border was also affected by the (April 25) earthquake. He suggested that the Chinese government should seriously reconsider hydropower development in the Yarlung Zangbo Valley. According to Mr Yang, the Yarlung Zangbo Valley is still in the “developmental” stage, and geological processes such as very strong earthquakes, mountain collapses, landslides and other such events frequently occur. This could exacerbate the impact of earthquakes, and increase the risks of hydropower-related disasters.
Responding to previous claims made by the aforementioned experts, Zhai En told ThePaper.cn that the Three Gorges Group had fully taken the seismic factor into account when it planned the Nepalese project. Mr Zhai confirmed that all of their dams in Nepal are made of concrete that can withstand a rare thousand-year earthquake, while the large hydropower projects built in China’s Jinsha Valley are strong enough to withstand an earthquake the magnitude of which strikes every ten thousand years.
“The earthquake-resistant building standards are much higher for hydro dam projects that those set for average buildings. As it’s impossible for hydro projects to get 100% risk-free due to the limitations of current technology and costs, the risk at this level is already close to zero. People can put their minds at ease in terms of the earthquake-resistant capacity of these dams,” the engineer said.
According to the International Commission on Large Dams, globally, no concrete dams have ever collapsed as a result of earthquakes, with the exception of Taiwan, where in 1999, a dam’s sluice was destroyed by an earthquake as the dam was built in a fault zone.
Li Jugen, Secretary-General of China Society of Hydroelectric Engineering, concurs:
“No safety incidents occurred in any of the concrete dams in China’s Wenchuan earthquake, which indicated that all concrete dams in the affected area stood up to the test of the earthquake.”
Mr Li explained that even if part of a dam was damaged due to seismic activity, it could still be repaired and reinforced, making it almost impossible for such infrastructure to collapse.
The original version of this article in Chinese is available at the publisher’s website here
Related Reading:
A danger of dams
Are dams triggering China’s earthquakes?
Could dams be causing China’s earthquakes?
Aftershocks from Sichuan earthquake pose threat of secondary disasters
Sichuan earthquake may be aftershock of 2008 killer quake: Chinese geologist
Deadly earthquake in China may be aftershock of 2008 Wenchuan quake
On alert: RIS risk amid rash of earthquakes in China’s Sichuan-Yunnan region
Press Release: 80,000 deaths from 2008 Chinese earthquake was likely not an act of God, says new study
Mega-dams in China’s earthquake zones could have “disastrous consequences”
Three Gorges Dam failing: Chinese dam increases risk of earthquakes
Hong Kong earthquake an aftershock triggered by Chinese dam 50 years ago
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 
It’s easy to criticize an approach that has risks wrt providing for the energy needs of people, but rather than criticize, perhaps Probe International should offer an alternative that is feasible from the standpoint of energy production and safety. How would you favour nuclear? Or fossil fuel driven technologies? One can always find fault if motivated to do so. The challenge is to offer feasible options!
Bob