(March 30, 2009) The popular online media community AlterNet has unearthed another expert to join the scientific battle of opinion over what exactly caused the M7.9 earthquake that killed 80,000 people in China’s Sichuan province last May.
Chinese press finally covers story that Zipingpu reservoir may have induced deadly quake
(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.
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.
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.
Chinese scientists talk about the Zipingpu reservoir-triggered earthquake
(December 15, 2008) Top Chinese scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have dismissed the possibility that the Zipingpu dam reservoir could have induced China’s devastating 2008 earthquake, complaining that the media has been “incessantly questioning the wisdom of building more and more hydro dams in earthquake-prone southwest China” in the wake of last year’s quake.
Integrated analysis of stress and regional seismicity by surface loading: a case study of the Zipingpu reservoir
(December 1, 2008) Probe International provides a partial translation of a Chinese geological case study of the Zipingpu reservoir authored by scientists from the government’s China Earthquake Administration. The study concluded that the 320 million tonnes of water in the Zipingpu reservoir had “clearly affected local seismicity” in the region and that, "it is worthwhile to further study if the effect played a role in triggering the Wenchuan earthquake."
New geomorphological index created for studying active tectonics of mountains
(June 3, 2008) To build a hospital, nuclear power station or a large dam you need to know the possible earthquake risks of the terrain. Now, researchers from the Universities of Granada and Jaen, alongside scientists from the University of California, have developed, based on relief data from the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada, a geomorphological index that analyses land form in relation to active tectonics, applicable to any mountain chain on the planet.
Major flooding risk could span decades after Chinese earthquake
(September 7, 2008) Up to 20 million people, thousands of whom are already displaced from their homes following the devastating Chinese earthquake, are at increased risk from flooding and major power shortages in the massive Sichuan Basin over the next few decades and possibly centuries.
Quake survivors now face threat of flooding from damaged dams
(September 4, 2008) An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 hit Sichaun province last Saturday, killing at least 38 people and displacing 1.09 million, reports the South China Morning Post.
The Zipingpu dam: after the quake
(July 22, 2008) The May 12 earthquake hit hard at the largest hydropower project in Sichuan province. Li Xiaoming was on the scene soon after the quake, and writes that even if the immediate dangers have passed, caution is still needed.
Chinese appeal for dams inquiry
(July 11, 2008) A group of Chinese academics and environmental activists call on the Chinese government to review the safety of large dam projects.
Asia: Wenchuan quake has limited impact on mining
(July 11, 2008) The numbers from the May 12 earthquake in China are staggering. As this edition of E&MJ went to press, the death toll in Sichuan Province had climbed to 68,000 with 288,000 injured and more than 5 million people homeless.
U.S. expert echoes Chinese concerns about dam-induced earthquakes
(June 5, 2008) U.S. engineer Dr. Philip Williams has added his voice to concerns expressed by a Chinese expert that the Zipingpu reservoir, now cracked and damaged as a result of China’s devastating May 12 earthquake, could actually have induced the earthquake.
China’s dams in the danger zone
(June 4, 2008) CHINA is no stranger to natural disasters, but it has come a long way in how it deals with them. When a dam collapsed during a typhoon three decades ago, killing more than 80,000 people, it was several years before the outside world knew anything about it. Beijing’s reaction to last month’s earthquake in Sichuan, which is known to have killed nearly 70,000, has been refreshingly different.
Patricia Adams
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Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
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