China: Dam burst, submerging 19 villages
The Quting Dam collapse in Hongdong County (Shanxi), China killed at least two people in Nanyanghai Village when more than 100m of the dam's embankment broke.
The dam break occurred on February 15, but it was not until three days later, on February 18, that the Chinese press reported the news. Xinhua News Agency reported that at 7 a.m. on February 15, this section of the dam suddenly broke open, releasing about 18 million cubic meters of water, submerging about 19 villages in three towns downstream. About 10,000 people had to be urgently evacuated from their homes due to the rapid influx of water.
Rocks and trees strewn across the ground after 18 million m3Floodwaters sweep through Nam Duong Hai village - Photo: Chinanews.com
Traffic on the highway and railway near the dam was blocked for more than 27 hours. Images showed abandoned houses, trees and rocks torn apart by the sudden floodwaters, with floodwaters still visible on half of the houses in the villages.
According to the initial investigation, the cause of the dam failure was a breach in a drainage culvert on top of the Khuc Dinh Dam, causing the water pressure to be so great that it tore off a section of more than 100m out of the total length of more than 400m of the dam bank. However, according to Xinhua, the cause of the dam failure is still under further investigation because the dam was built in 1959 and reinforced in 2004. According to the original design, the reservoir of the Khuc Dinh Dam could hold up to 19 million cubic meters of water, but when the dam broke, almost all the water in the reservoir was released downstream.
According to Tuoi Tre - DT
