(February 20, 2009) After several weeks of widespread international media coverage of the theory that the Zipingpu dam reservoir played a role in triggering the deadly Sichuan earthquake of May 2008, China’s official Xinhua news agency has finally published an article online discussing the theory.
Major U.S. media report on theory that the deadly Sichuan earthquake was man-made
(February 18, 2009) As speculation has grown over whether the Sichuan earthquake, which killed 80,000 people last May and left more than 5 million people homeless, was triggered by the 315 million tonnes of water held in the Zipingpu dam reservoir, so too has press coverage of that theory. Here, Probe International provides a roundup of what that coverage is saying.
Probe corrects Mother Jones
(February 11, 2009) Probe International has called for an investigation into the role of the Three Gorges dam in the Chinese earthquake. Incorrect reporting had Probe claiming that the Three Gorges dam was responsible for the devastating earthquake
Dam blamed for scale of Chinese earthquake
(February 9, 2009) Pressure from Zipingpu dam could have amplified Sichuan quake that killed 70,000
Three Gorges Dam Project, Yangtze River, China
(2008) Large reservoirs can cause seismic events as they fill and as the pressure on local faults increases. Such reservoir-induced seismicity was predicted for the Three Gorges region, which is already seismically active and indeed, there has been an increase in reported seismic activity in the region following construction of the dam and the filling of the reservoir.
China must come clean on Zipingpu
(February 6, 2009) China’s deadly 2008 earthquake was probably not a natural disaster at all, experts say, but one induced by man – specifically by the four year old Zipingpu dam.
Dam may have triggered huge China quake: scientists
(February 5, 2009) A man-made dam may have triggered China’s devastating earthquake last year, some government officials and scientists are claiming, pitting them against others who insist it was a natural disaster.
China Earthquake a Dam-Induced Disaster?
(February 4, 2009) Last year’s devastating Sichuan earthquake, which took at least 69,000 lives, may have been unleashed by the huge Zipingpu Dam. New scientific evidence links the impoundment of the Zipingpu reservoir to the activation of a fault line near the dam site. A thorough scientific assessment is needed before China builds more dams in earthquake-prone areas.
A link between dams and earthquakes?
(February 3, 2009) The earth is big, and so are the tectonic plates—it doesn’t seem possible that anything humans could do to the earth would have an effect on those immense plates. But evidence is mounting that we cause earthquakes.
Telegraph: Chinese earthquake may have been man-made, says scientists
(February 3, 2009) British newspaper Telegraph has joined an evergrowing list of international media outlets promoting the recent theory that last year’s devastating Sichuan earthquake was not an entirely ‘natural’ disaster. That it was potentially caused by the added pressure on the fault line as a result of the Zipingpu dam reservoir being constructed.
Did a new hydropower dam trigger China’s deadly 2008 earthquake?
(February 2, 2009) The devastating earthquake that killed 80,000 people in China’s Sichuan Province last May may have been triggered by a recently built hydropower dam that lies only three miles from the quake’s epicenter, some researchers are arguing.
Scientists build case that Zipingpu dam triggered China’s devastating earthquake
(January 28, 2009) Since China’s deadly May 12 earthquake, Fan Xiao, China’s chief engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau, has been a lone voice calling for an investigation into the possibility that the Zipingpu dam reservoir, just a few kilometers from the epicenter, might have induced the earthquake.
Chinese geologist says Zipingpu dam reservoir may have triggered China’s deadly quake, calls for investigation
(January 26, 2009) Fan Xiao, Chief Engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau, says scientists must investigate if Zipingpu dam triggered devastating 2008 earthquake, describes massive quake-damage to dams, rebuts recent Science Times article.
Columbia geophysical hazards scientist says evidence shows dam reservoir likely triggered China’s great quake of 2008
(January 26, 2009) Christian Klose, a geophysical hazards research scientist from Columbia University in New York, says geophysical data suggests that the Zipingpu dam reservoir — just a few kilometers from the epicenter of China’s great quake of 2008 — likely triggered the deadly quake and explains how it happened.
FACT SHEET: Earthquake Fatalities High in 2008
(January 6, 2009) The number of earthquake-related fatalities across the world was much higher in 2008 than in recent years.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
Probe Media
Other News Sources
Probe International 