A centralized system that prevents local governments from responding fast during emergencies, and rewards them for relief efforts over efforts to prevent calamity, is a recipe for disaster. Analysts weigh in on […]
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 […]
A glacial burst that triggered a deadly flash flood in the Indian Himalayas focuses fears on the impacts of “bumper-to-bumper” dam building in seismically active regions and China’s dam operations in neighbouring […]
The Three Gorges Dam was designed to tame China’s longest river. But this summer’s record rains reveal its limited ability to control floods.
Is China set for a redo of its 1998 flood crisis?
China’s dam-building spree on the Tibetan Plateau has given Beijing immense leverage as controller of the region’s “blue gold” and with that power comes responsibility. For starters, to permit an open assessment of the impacts of these projects – particularly given the region’s vulnerability to seismic risk – and to share those findings with neighboring countries and the people most directly affected by dam construction upheaval.
Another deadly landslide at a hydropower construction site in Fujian, south-east China, highlights the growing risks of dam building in mountainous regions of Asia. Chinadialogue.net reports.
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.
Alarm over northern Iraq’s Mosul Dam continues to mount. This in-depth Globe and Mail update looks at how Saddam Hussein’s vanity project reached this point and what will happen if the dam does fail.
President Xi Jinping’s pledge to prioritize environmental protection and halt new development projects on the Yangtze is a promising turnaround for China’s beleaguered river pulse but don’t hold your breath.
Two of the most populous nations—China and India—are building hundreds of dams in a violently active geologic zone.
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.
Massive landslide in China caught on video along the northern bank of the Daning River, a Yangtze tributary. Details still forthcoming. Various reports say boats capsized, 4 people injured, 1 missing.
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.
This spotlight on mega-dams of note, profiled by International Rivers’ Peter Bosshard for The Guardian, lists more banes than boons with a quest Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, famously described as the “disease of gigantism.”
Patricia Adams
Brady Yauch
Dai Qing
Fan Xiao
Lawrence Solomon
Mu Lan
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