(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."
Study on Methods of Reservoir Induced Seismicity Prediction of the Three Gorges Reservoir”
(October 17, 2008) Based on the analysis of seismogeological background, the Three Gorges Reservoir area is divided into 31 units according to different combined conditions of induced earthquake, together with 8 influencing factors, to give the prediction on probability and magnitude of RIS by adopting statistical prediction model, fuzzy mathematics and gray system model as well as artificial neural network model respectively.
Pulling the trigger on RTS
(October 3, 2008) The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) has published a new informative bulletin on reservoir triggered seismicity.
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.
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.
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.
Chinese experts appeal to authorities to suspend big dam projects in southwest China following Sichuan’s deadly earthquake
(June 19, 2008) Experts in geology, water conservancy, and environmental protection have jointly appealed to authorities in Beijing to temporarily suspend the approval of big hydro dams in geologically unstable areas in southwest China.
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.
Three Gorges Dam in good shape despite quake
(June 2, 2008) The Three Gorges Dam remains safe from the May 12 quake that hit Sichuan province, a senior dam official said Sunday.
Quake warnings in China went unheeded
(May 30, 2008) Chinese scientists say that even before a final accounting can be made in the earthquake in Sichuan Province, one thing is already painfully evident: The huge death toll in the disaster stems from a failure to heed clear warnings of a devastating earthquake in the area
Three Gorges project unaffected; has the design capability to withstand an earthquake of seismic intensity 7
(May 29, 2008) “The Three Gorges reservoir area – from Honghuabao in Jiangjin City of Chongqing to the dam site downstream – has not been affected and is generally stable,” says Li Yongan, general manager of the Three Gorges Corporation.
China fights quake lakes
(May 29, 2008) About 160,000 people are being relocated and the government may have to evacuate as many as 1.3 million after landslides caused by the May 12 quake blocked rivers, creating 35 lakes, reported Bloomberg. Some of them are threatening to burst their banks.
Can’t rule out possibility that dams induced earthquake, says expert
(May 28, 2008) Chief engineer of the Regional Geology Investigation Team of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau argues that the now damaged Zipingpu dam may have induced the May 12 earthquake.
Probe International 