The partial collapse of a new bridge in China’s Sichuan province this week riveted a global audience with the spectacle of disaster. The greater drama is China’s breakneck hydropower expansion.
The lesson of Hongqi Grand Bridge
Dammed to the hilt
For the first time, a comprehensive list of cascade dams in Sichuan Province shows the jaw-dropping extent to which one of China’s most hydropowered regions is being developed, proving the Xi Jinping […]
Dams cause earthquakes, earthquakes cause other earthquakes
A new study focused on the 6.8 M Luding earthquake in China’s Sichuan-Yunnan seismic zone, shows how dams make areas susceptible to earthquakes directly (through RIS) and indirectly by altering geological structures, […]
Another massive earthquake slashes power from China’s No.2 and No.3 hydro dams
A 30 percent loss of output from two massive dams on the upper Yangtze, in combination with a 6.1M earthquake upstream and south-west of the two stricken hydro plants, heightens fears in […]
Seismic activity in the Three Gorges region – 2021 update
Since the impoundment of the Three Gorges reservoir began in 2003, tens of thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in the reservoir area. Chinese geologist and environmentalist, Fan Xiao, looks at the […]
A deadly 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits China’s big-dam country, Jinsha River valley
A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan province in southwest China late Monday night, followed by a series of aftershocks measuring over magnitude 5.0 reports China’s official Xinhua news agency. Historical data indicates the event is an unprecedented one for the area.
Once again: Sichuan quake highlights dam risk
The 7.0-magnitude earthquake in southwest China’s Sichuan province earlier this month, and a devastating 2008 quake in the same province, are likely linked to the region’s dam-building program, says expert.
The Induced Earthquakes Database
Mining-related activity accounts for the most frequent cause of human induced seismicity, followed by water reservoir impoundment, according to The Induced Earthquakes Database – a comprehensive global review of all human-induced earthquakes.
Keep an eye on this
A USD80-million research project at India’s Koyna dam site will study reservoir-triggered earthquakes (aka reservoir-induced seismicity) and the causes behind them. Dam activity at Koyna was blamed for a powerful earthquake in 1967 that destroyed the village of Koynanagar in western India’s Maharashtra state, left 180 people dead, 1,500 injured, thousands homeless and power cut off to Bombay.
Too many dams to look after
As China continues to embrace a new era of hydropower expansion, demand for dam inspection has outpaced the country’s supply of inspectors, ramping up safety fears for thousands of small- and medium-sized dams in China’s rural areas that have been “ignored”, reports Ecns.cn.
The hidden costs of China’s shift to hydropower
Chinese authorities are hoping a large-scale rollout of hydropower can help to reduce toxic smog but, in addition to the high financial and environmental costs, many experts are skeptical that more hydropower means less coal.
The impending dam disaster in the Himalayas
Two of the most populous nations—China and India—are building hundreds of dams in a violently active geologic zone.
The world’s biggest hydropower project may be causing giant landslides in China
A massive landslide this week is only the latest natural disaster critics believe the Three Gorges Dam has caused—even officials admit there have been 70% more landslides and bank collapses in the dam’s reservoir area since it was built 12 years ago. Lily Kuo for Quartz reports.
Three Gorges Group will not stop building hydro dams in Nepal
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.
A danger of dams
This Huffington Post blog, by Peter Neill, founder and director of the World Ocean Observatory, looks at the global love affair with big dams and the perils of forcing water to acquiesce to political ambitions and national pride, and the sometimes dangerous results of doing so.
Patricia Adams
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
Probe International
Lisa Peryman
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