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Aftermath of China quake: Flooding threatens millions
Published on Sat, May 31, 2008 at 08:40 in World section
Tags: China Earthquake, Flooding , Beichuan China
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Beichuan, China: In earthquake-shattered China, it is a race against nature and time as helicopters fly toward lakes formed by landslides blocking rivers. Officials fear these massive pools of water are just about ready to rupture.
“It's an emergency,” says relief worker, Jing Changguan, indicating a massive lake formed by river blockades, “All of our work is centred on this lake.”
Tens of thousands have already been evacuated, but 1.3 million people still remain in the danger zone.
However, this is just one of the flooding threats across the shattered region.
China's government says thousands of dams are damaged and about 70 are ready to collapse.
China has more dams than anywhere in the world, many of them in the earthquake-devastated Sichuan province.
Experts question the wisdom of building so many dams in an earthquake zone.
Environmentalist Dai Ging says it's simply not safe and suggests some may be more interested in lucrative contracts for building dams, rather than safety.
Near Beichuan, one of the hardest-hit areas, some evacuees say they used to think the dams were a blessing. The three hydroelectric dams near the area gave their town all of its electricity.
China says thousands of towns and cities get power from such dams and they control water flow, making these citizens safer. But now, the evacuees are not so sure..
“If we move to high ground, there could be landslides. If we move to low ground, we may face danger from a dam,” pointed out an Deng Guozhi.
As China begins to rebuild its homes and infrastructure, environmentalists caution it should not just be a matter of when but how.
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