CHINA-NATURAL CALAMITY: CHINESE HYDROLOGIST WARNS THAT THREE GORGES DAM IS AT RISK OF COLLAPSE

The Chinese government is denying that the infamous Three Gorges Dam is at risk of collapse after heavy flooding and a warning from notable Chinese hydrologist Wang Weiluo — raising suspicions that it is in fact at risk. Foreign journalists attempting to report on the recent issues were followed and their sources threatened. Wang Weilo's warning comes amidst torrential rains in China which are wreaking havoc on more than 24 provinces. Taiwan News (June 26) said that in an interview with Radio France International, Wang Weiluo pointed out that the dam's design, construction, and quality inspection were all carried out by the same group of people and that the project was finished too quickly. He said even Chinese Vice Minister of Water Resources Ye Jianchun had confessed at a June 10 press conference that water levels of at least 148 rivers in the country have risen above warning thresholds, which proves that the Three Gorges Dam has a limited effect on flood control. Wang Weiluo said a more serious concern is the cracks and substandard concrete discovered during its construction.

(Comment: A Three Gorges Dam collapse would be a disaster even greater than the last time a major dam failed in China. In 1975, the collapse of the Banqiao Dam killed 230,000 people.)







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