Three Gorges reservoir gets quake alarm (China Daily) Updated: 2005-04-05 06:20
CHONGQING: A tremour monito-ring and early warning network for the Three
Gorges reservoir area has been set up in Chongqing, Southwest China's biggest
municipality, the local government said.
The network combines a local earthquake monitoring station with the city's
GPS monitoring network. It will improve the existing geological disaster
monitoring system, which was designed to detect medium and strong geological
movement, the city's seismological bureau said.
"With the new network, even the slightest movement in the reservoir area can
be detected, providing the local government with complete first-hand
information," said Hu Xuqing, an official in charge of the geological calamities
prevention office of the reservoir area.
The construction of the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River, the
world's biggest hydro-electric project, began in 1993 and is expected to be
completed in 2009. The huge reservoir began to fill in June, 2003, with more
than 220 counties inundated in Chongqing and Hubei Province on the river's upper
and middle reaches.
Geological disasters like landslides, collapses and mud flows were common
before construction of the Three Gorges Project, sparking fears about possible
calamities after the reservoir began to fill.
China has invested more than 4 billion yuan (US$482 million) in the
prevention and control of geological disasters in the Three Gorges area. This
new network is a part of the system, said Hu.
"We have started 24-hour monitoring of the geological situation in the
reservoir area and will issue early warnings if necessary," he said.
Hu said that a special geographical disaster data base for the reservoir area
has been established and advanced technologies like satellite remote sensing are
being used to monitor the geological situation in the area.
(China Daily 04/05/2005 page2)
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