DOCSLIB.ORG

1 Once More, Impoundment of Two Mega-Dams on China's Jinsha

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
1 Once More, Impoundment of Two Mega-Dams on China's Jinsha 225 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 2M6, Tel. (416) 964-9223, Fax: (416) 964-8239 Email: [email protected] Web: http://journal.probeinternational.org Once more, impoundment of two mega-dams on China’s Jinsha River triggers another earthquake in Ludian By Fan Xiao According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC), a 6.5-magnitude earthquake occurred at 16:30 on August 3, 2014, in Longtoushan Town, Ludian County, in Yunnan Province. The epicenter was located at 27.1N, 103.3E with a focal depth of 12 km. According to the official statistics, as of 15:00, August 8, 2014, the Ludian earthquake had killed 617 people; left 3,143 injured, caused the collapse of more than 80,000 homes and necessitated the emergency relocation of 229,700 people. Overall, more than 1,088,400 people were adversely affected in Ludian, Qiaojia and Yongshan counties, Zhaoyang District in Zhaotong City, and Huize County in Qujing City, in Yunnan Province. A study by the Institute of Geology, of the China Earthquake Administration, and other institutions, has confirmed that the 6.5M Ludian earthquake was a left-lateral, strike-slip quake, which occurred on the northwest Baogunao-Xiaohe fault, a branch of the northeast trending Zhaotong-Ludian fault. According to the region’s seismic conditions, however, the Zhaotong-Ludian fault is part of the Mabian-Zhaotong fault. As the historic records show, the Mabian-Zhaotong fault is an active seismic zone: at least 50 events with a destructive impact have been recorded in this zone since 1900, seven of which were greater than 6M, including a 7.1M quake which occurred in Yongshan County, Yunnan Province, in 1974. In fact, Lake Mahu (known as Lake Horse in English), one of the biggest lakes in Leibo County in Yunnan, is actually a quake lake produced by an earthquake pre-dating 1900. In the wake of the recent 6.5M Ludian earthquake, questions have arisen over whether the region’s mega-dams – in particular the Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba projects on the Jinsha River, the main channel of the upper Yangtze – had something to do with an increase in the frequency of seismic events like this one. Given that the Mabian-Zhaotong fault passes through the Jinsha Valley, significant seismic events 1 have been induced following the impoundment of the Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba reservoirs, and more significantly, the Xiluodu reservoir is only 40 km away from the epicenter of the Ludian earthquake.i This paper examines the relationship between the time and location of earthquakes in the Sichuan-Yunnan region during a four-and-a-half year period (January 1, 2012 - July 31, 2014) and the times the reservoirs at Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu were being filled. When and how the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs were filled In order to gain a clearer picture of the relationship between the Ludian earthquake and the impoundment of these two giant reservoirs, the author drew a sketch (see Figure 1). In the Study Area A (with locations ranging from 101.25 ~ 101.75E to 27.75 ~ 28.25N, defined by the author for the convenience of this study), Figure 1 shows 401 earthquakes ≥ 2M were recorded in this area between January 1, 2010 and July 31, 2014, based on the data provided by the websites of China Seismic Information (CSI) and Yunnan Earthquake Prevention and Disaster Reduction (YEPDR). Figure 1: The relationship between large reservoirs and seismic activity in Sichuan-Yunnan region 2 Click here to access the full-sized image of this sketch In this sketch, epicenters of ≥ 2M earthquakes are marked in the following colours: Before filling of the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs: 2010, purple; 2011, sky blue; January 2012 to August 2012, green. The period of rising water levels before formal impoundment of the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs is marked: September 2012 in yellow. After the filling of the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs is completed: October 2012 to May 2013 is marked in purplish red; June 2013 to August 2013, orange; after September 2013, red. The red rectangular boxes show maximum earthquakes and the times they occurred in various seismic clusters. Please note, the data used in this article does not include seismic events recorded by the specially designated seismic monitoring network around the Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba reservoir areas (because it is not publicly available, and largely draws on data recorded by regional monitoring stations and networks. Thus, many minor seismic events, which might better reflect the scope and intensity of the reservoir-induced-seismicity (RIS) in this area, are not included. Despite the incomplete data, however, the data that is available is still sufficient to show the significant change in seismic activities before and after the impoundment of the two large dams, and provides crucial information relating to RIS in this region. Xiangjiaba Dam: With a height of 162 meters and a storage capacity of 4.977 billion cubic meters, the Xiangjiaba Dam on the main stream of the lower Jinsha is China’s third-largest hydropower station. On October 10, 2012, the Xiangjiaba began filling. The reservoir’s water levels rose from 280 meters to 354 meters (above sea level) between October 10 – 16, 2012, with a total increase of 74 meters; the second phase of impoundment began on June 26, 2013. The reservoir was filled to 370 meters on July 5, 2013, with a total increase of 16 meters in 9 days; the water level rose further to 372 meters on the completion of the second phase of impoundment; the third phase of impoundment began on September 7, 2013. The water level rose to 380 meters on September 12, 2013, with a total increase of 8 meters. It is noteworthy, and of concern, that the reservoir water level was raised from 280 meters to 380 meters above sea level, with a total increase of 100 meters and a total storage capacity of 4.9 billion cubic meters in just 11 months; namely from October 2012 to September 2013. Then the water levels vary between 370 meters and 380 meters (normal pool level) above sea level. The fluctuating water levels between 370 m and 380 m above sea level is equivalent to the loading or unloading of about 1 billion cubic meters, or about 1 billion tonnes in this time period. Generally speaking, the water level remained at more than 378 meters above sea level during the period 3 between September 2013 and June 2014. The water level dropped to 372 meters in early July of this year and then remained at around this level until the event of the Ludian earthquake. Xiluodu Dam: On May 4, 2012, the Xiluodu Dam, which is located upstream of the Xiangjiaba Dam, began filling. The reservoir’s water levels rose from 440 meters to 540 meters (above sea level) on June 23, 2013, with a total increase of 100 meters. The second phase of impoundment began on October 19, 2013. The reservoir was filled to 560 meters on December 8, 2013, with a total increase of 20 meters; the water level further rose to 563 meters in March 2014. The water levels dropped from April 7, 2014 to below 541 meters on May 17, although the water level rose again to 560 meters on July 3, 2012, following completion of the second phase of impoundment; the third phase of impoundment began on July 3, 2013. The water level rose to 570 meters on July 23, 2013, and increased to 571.7 meters on August 1, 2014, two days before the Ludian earthquake. Prior to the Ludian earthquake, the Xiluodu reservoir’s water level was raised from 440 meters to 571.7 meters above sea level, with a total increase of up to 132 meters and a total storage capacity of 7 billion cubic meters in 15 months, or from June 2013 to August 2014. Seismic activity significantly increased after filling of the two reservoirs To show the changes to seismic activity in spatial distribution before and after the impoundment of the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs, the author uses different colors to present epicenters of the 401 ≥ 2M earthquakes recorded in the Study Area A between January 1, 2010 and July 31, 2014 (see Figure 1). In the Study Area A, scattered ≥ 2M earthquakes were recorded along the Yanjin-Daguan-Yiliang-Zhaotong-Ludian-Qiaojia line, before the impoundment of the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs from January 2010 to August 2012, while almost no ≥ 2M earthquakes occurred along the Jinsha valley or Shuifu-Suijiang- Leibo-Yongshan line. On September 7, 2012, a row of two 5.7M and 5.6M earthquakes occurred in Yiliang (County), but the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu dams appeared to have no impact on these two seismic events because, at that time, only the Xiluodu had commenced filling and no substantial increase of water levels were recorded around that time. After October 2012, however, it was a totally different story: seismic activity surged dramatically on both sides of the two reservoirs and the surrounding area with the rapid and substantial rise of water levels at both the Xiangjiaba and Xiluodu reservoirs. As Figure 1 shows, ≥ 2M earthquakes not only dramatically increased and became widespread in this region but four dense seismic clusters appeared as a result: including the Suijiang-Mabian seismic clusters at the tail of the Xiangjiaba reservoir, 4 which is associated with the northwest trending Mabian-Yanjin fault zone; the Leibo-Yongshan seismic cluster near the Xiluodu dam, which is connected with the northeast trending Yongshan fault zone; the Ludian-Qiaojia seismic cluster southeast of the tail of the Xiluodu reservoir, which is mainly controlled by an intersection zone where several north-west, north-east, and south-north fault belts meet; and the Yiliang seismic cluster, near the epicenter of the Yiliang earthquake which occurred on September 7, 2012, and is mainly controlled by an intersection zone where several north-west, north-east, and south-north fault belts criss-cross.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hydropower in China
    Hydro power in China DEPARTMENTOFTECHNOLOGYAND BUILTENVIRONMENT Hydropower in China Jie Cai September 2009 Master’s Thesis in Energy System Program Examiner: Alemayehu Gebremedhin Supervisor: Alemayehu Gebremedhin 1 Hydro power in China Acknowledgement This master thesis topic is Hydropower in China. After several months’ efforts, I have finally brought this thesis into existence. Firstly, I appreciated the opportunity to write this topic with my supervisor, Alemayehu Gebremedhin. I would like to thank him for attention and helped me. He is instrumental and without his honest support or guidance, my thesis would not be possible. Secondly, I would like to thank my opponent Yinhao Lu. Thirdly, I would like to thank my uncle, aunt from Australia. They helped me translate the websites and correction grammar. Lastly, I acknowledge with gratitude the contributions of the scholars, presses and journals that I have frequently referred to for relevant first-hand data. I hope that readers would find this thesis somewhat useful. In addition, I promise that there are no copies in my thesis. Jie Cai September 2009 2 Hydro power in China Abstract Today, with the great development of science and technology, it seems to be more and more important to develop renewable energy sources. In this thesis, I would like to introduce something about Chinese water resources. The renewable energy sources can generate electricity. Furthermore, hydropower is the most often used energy in the world. Hydropower develops quickly in recent years in China and it is significant to Chinese industries. The data collection in this paper comes from China Statistics Yearbook and this study draws on the existing literature, which projects Chinese future hydropower development.
    [Show full text]
  • Kunming Qingshuihai Water Supply Project
    Report and Recommendation of the President to the Board of Directors ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````Sri Lanka Project Number: 40052 November 2007 Proposed Loan People’s Republic of China: Kunming Qingshuihai Water Supply Project CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 15 November 2007) Currency Unit – yuan (CNY) CNY1.00 = $0.1347 $1.00 = CNY7.43 ABBREVIATIONS AAOV – average annual output value ADB – Asian Development Bank AH – affected household AP – affected person ASEAN – Association of Southeast Asian Nations EDZ – East Development Zone EIA – environmental impact assessment EIRR – economic internal rate of return EMDP – ethnic minority development plan EMP – environmental management plan FYP – five-year program GDP – gross domestic product IA – implementing agency ICB – international competitive bidding JBIC – Japan Bank for International Cooperation JV – joint venture KMG – Kunming municipal government KWSG – Kunming Water Supply Group Company Limited LIBOR – London interbank offered rate MDG – Millennium Development Goal MLSS – minimum living standard scheme NADZ – New Airport Development Zone NCB – national competitive bidding O&M – operation and maintenance PLG – project leading group PMO – project management office PPMS – project performance monitoring system PRC – People’s Republic of China PSP – private sector participation QCBS – quality- and cost-based selection RP – resettlement plan SEPA – State Environmental Protection Administration TA – technical assistance WACC – weighted average cost of capital WSC – water supply company WWTP – wastewater treatment plant YPG – Yunnan provincial government WEIGHTS AND MEASURES km2 – square kilometer m2 – square meter m3 – cubic meter m3/s – cubic meter per second mu – unit of land measure, 667 m2 NOTES (i) The fiscal year (FY) of the Government ends on 31 December. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY 2007 ends on 31 December 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Visualizing Hydropower Across the Himalayas: Mapping in a Time of Regulatory Decline
    HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies Volume 34 Number 2 Article 9 December 2014 Visualizing Hydropower Across the Himalayas: Mapping in a time of Regulatory Decline Kelly D. Alley Auburn University, [email protected] Ryan Hile University of Utah Chandana Mitra Auburn University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya Recommended Citation Alley, Kelly D.; Hile, Ryan; and Mitra, Chandana. 2014. Visualizing Hydropower Across the Himalayas: Mapping in a time of Regulatory Decline. HIMALAYA 34(2). Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol34/iss2/9 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by the DigitalCommons@Macalester College at DigitalCommons@Macalester College. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Macalester College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Visualizing Hydropower Across the Himalayas: Mapping in a time of Regulatory Decline Acknowledgements Earlier drafts of this paper were presented at the BAPA-BEN International Conference on Water Resources in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2013 and for the AAA panel on Developing the Himalaya in 2012. The authors appreciate the comments and support provided by members who attended these sessions. Our mapping project has been supported by the College of Liberal Arts and the Center for Forest Sustainability at Auburn University. This research article is available in HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol34/iss2/9 Visualizing Hydropower across the Himalayas: Mapping in a time of Regulatory Decline Kelly D.
    [Show full text]
  • TEMC Commissioner and the Vice-Director of Yunnan Health
    TEMC Commissioner and the Vice-Director of Yunnan Health Bureau Xu Heping Along with the Government Workgroup in LuDian Earthquake-Stricken Area On October 3rd , 2014, 4:30 pm, a 6.3 terrible earthquake hit the Ludian County in Yunnan Province of China. Premier Li keqiang flew to the earthquake- striken area the next morning and led the rescue immediately. As the front line commander of the rescue, commissioner of The International Emergency Management Society Emergency Medical Committee(TEMC) also as the vice director of Yunnan Health Bureau Xu Heping flew to the Zhaotong City with the officers led by governor Li Jiheng. It took them the risk of dangers and aftershock all the way to the center of the earthquake- the town of LongTou mountain, after three hours by walk, the group got to the area and start to rescue and begin to transfer the wounds. Vice director of Yunnan Health Bureau and the commissioner of TEMC Xu Heping lead the rescue on site with the governor Li Jiheng the first time arrived. Saving one more life means one more family The state council of China pay a highly attention to the 6.3 earthquake in Ludian County of Yunnan Province. National Health and Birth Control Committee react to the disaster areas with great support including initiative the public health emergency plan, organized and transferred medical resources to the front line of earthquake center. Due to the short of electricity power, medical equipment and the medicine, the rescue group had to carry the stuff and walk inside the area.
    [Show full text]
  • 6. Estimates of Compensation Fees for Land Acquisition and House Demolition
    RP895 V1 Public Disclosure Authorized Zhaotong Central City Environmental Construction Project Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Management Office of Foreign-funded Urban Construction Projects of Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong Municipality Resettlement Office of World Bank Financed Zhaotong Central City Environmental Construction Project Zhaotong, China, November 2009 Public Disclosure Authorized 1 Summary A. Overview 1. The Zhaotong Central City Environmental Construction Project (hereinafter referred to as the “Project”) consists of 3 components: northern area water supply and pipeline project, central city sewage treatment and intercepting sewer project and central city river rehabilitation project. The Project has a construction period of 5 years and a total investment estimate of 825 million yuan, including a World Bank loan of US$60 million yuan. 2. The Project Coordinating and Leading Group of Foreign Funded Projects of Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong Municipality is the executing agency of the Project, and the Management Office of Foreign-funded Urban Construction Projects of Zhaoyang District and the Owner are the implementing agencies of the Project. According to the latest feasibility study outputs, the detailed socioeconomic survey and the impact survey, the Project Management Office (PMO) of Zhaoyang District, Zhaotong Municipality has prepared this RAP with the assistance of the China Cross-Cultural Consulting Center at Sun Yat-sen University (CCCC at SYU) and World Bank experts. B. Impacts of the Project 3. During November 7-15, 2009, the Owner made a detailed survey of the key physical indicators affected by the Project, such as population, houses and attachments, land and special facilities, according to the latest feasibility study outputs, with the assistance of local governments at all levels, administrative villages, communities, villager team officials and the design agency.
    [Show full text]
  • Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Depression Among Older Persons 6 Months After the Lushan Earthquake in China: a Cross-Sectional Survey
    ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 25 September 2020 doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00853 Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Depression Among Older Persons 6 Months After the Lushan Earthquake in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey Lan Li 1,2,3,7, Jan D. Reinhardt 3,4,5, Andrew Pennycott 6, Ying Li 7,8 and Qian Chen 7,8* 1 West China School of Nursing/West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, 2 School of Nursing, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, China, 3 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, 4 Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland, 5 Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland, 6 Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, Department of Health Science and Technology ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland, 7 The Center of Gerontology and Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, 8 National Clinical Research Center of Geriatrics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China Edited by: Background: Older persons are particularly vulnerable to the impact of earthquakes and Francesca Assogna, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS), Italy are more likely to suffer from depression. Reviewed by: Objectives: We aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression, to compare the Valentina Ciullo, prevalence between disaster-affected and non-disaster affected areas, and to explore Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS), Italy Clelia Pellicano, additional risk factors for depression 6 months after the Lushan earthquake. Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS), Italy Design: Delfina Janiri, A cross-sectional study was conducted. Sapienza University of Rome, Italy Setting: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred in Lushan County, Ya’an Prefecture, *Correspondence: Sichuan Province, on April 20, 2013.
    [Show full text]
  • Seismicity，Structure and Local Stress Fields Around the Downstream of Jinsha River, Western China
    Seismicity，structure and Local Stress Fields around the Downstream of Jinsha River, Western China Zhao Cuiping, Zuo kezhen, Duan Mengqiao, Zhao Ce, Zhou Lianqing The Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA, Beijing, China [email protected] Introduction: In the downstream of Jinsha River, 4 large Focal mechanism and Stress Field dams are built or under construction. Among them, Xiangjiaba CAP and GPAT method are used to invert focal mechanisms and Xiluodu reservoir have been filled since Oct. 2012 and May for earthquakes with magnitude of M≥2.0 from Jan. 2016 to 2013 respectively. Baihetan and Wudongde are under July 2018 recorded by the reservoir network. We obtained construction. In order to monitor earthquake activity around total of 542 focal mechanism solutions. Then we use these reservoirs, a dense seismic network has been operated iterative joint inversion method (IJIM) to invert stress field along the downstream of Jinsha River since Jan. 2016，which for four sub-regions, named as the Xiluodu dam area, the is much denser than before. From Jan. 2016 till July. 2018, Baihetan dam area, the Wudongde dam area, and the more than 10 thousand of earthquakes have been located by Ludian source region, in order to investigate the current the intensive network. It is obvious that small quakes became stress environment and the effect of impoundment. more active and frequent since 2013 and continued till Dec. 2017. Earthquake clustered along the upstream section of Xiluodu, and also along the EW direction branch formed by aftershocks of Aug.3 2014 Ludian M 6.6. a. Before 2013.5(37) b.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Gorges Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant
    Three Gorges Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant The Three Gorges Dam Project (TGP) is the world's largest hydropower complex project located in one of the three gorges of the Yangtze River: the Xilingxia Gorge in Hubei province, China. The gorge controls approximately one million square kilometres of drainage area and averages a runoff of 451 billion cubic metres annually. China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGPC) acts as the legal entity for TGP and is responsible for the construction, operation and financing of the project. Construction on the Three Gorges Dam was completed in 2008. The dam stands 185m high and 2,309m wide, making it the world's largest hydro plant, well ahead of Brazil's 12,600MW Itaipu installation. A total of 32 main power generators are planned to operate off the dam, of which 12 sets on the right bank and 14 sets on the left were installed in 2006 and 2008, respectively. They were operational in October 2008 and generated a total of 18,300MW. Another six generators are being installed underground and are expected to become fully operational by the end of 2011. These six were added to the project in 2002. The first three became operational in June 2011. The third generator unit (Unit 30) completed a 72 hour test run in July 2011. The first underground unit (Unit 32) began operations in May 2011 and the second (Unit 31) commenced commercial operations in June 2011. Once the additional generators are all installed, the plant will produce 22,500MW of electricity. Three Gorges project The Three Gorges Dam project involves harnessing the Yangtze River, Asia's longest stretch of water, to generate prodigious amounts of electricity.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Rural Reconstruction and Recovery in Sichuan China
    POST-WENCHUAN EARTHQUAKE RURAL RECONSTRUCTION AND RECOVERY IN SICHUAN CHINA: MEMORY, CIVIC PARTICIPATION AND GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION by Haorui Wu B.Eng., Sichuan University, 2006 M.Eng., Sichuan University, 2009 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) September 2014 ©Haorui Wu, 2014 Abstract On May 12, 2008, an earthquake of a magnitude of 7.9 struck Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, China, which affected 45.5 million people, causing over 15 million people to be evacuated from their homes and leaving more than five million homeless. From an interdisciplinary lens, interrogating the many interrelated elements of recovery, this dissertation examines the post-Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction and recovery. It explores questions about sense of home, civic participation and reconstruction primarily based on the phenomenon of the survivors of the Wenchuan Earthquake losing their sense of home after their post-disaster relocation and reconstruction. The following three aspects of the reconstruction are examined: 1) the influence of local residents’ previous memories of their original hometown on their relocation and the reconstruction of their social worlds and lives, 2) the civic participation that took place throughout the post-disaster reconstruction, 3) the government interventions overseeing and facilitating the entire post-disaster reconstruction. Based on fieldwork, archival and document research, memory workshops and walk-along interviews, a qualitative study was conducted with the aim of examining the earthquake survivors’ general memories of daily life and specific memories of utilizing space in their original hometown.
    [Show full text]
  • Displacement and Resettlement Following the Ludian Earthquake in China
    SHUYU JIANG Displacement and Resettlement Following the Ludian Earthquake in China hile the memory of the Wenchuan earthquake is vivid in Chinese people’s memory, on 3 August 2014, a 6.5-magni- tude earthquake devastated Ludian County in Yunnan Province in southwest China. According to the central government’s calculation (Government of the PRC, November 2014), 617 people were reported dead, 112 missing and 318,000 people were displaced. The earth- quake was the largest natural disaster in China in 2014 and caused economic losses amounting to US$6 billion (ESCAP, 2014). WThis paper concentrates on displacement after the Ludian earthquake and the relevant solutions to it. The first part provides the background information as to why this area is vulnerable to natural disasters. The second reviews the impacts of the earthquake and how rescue and temporary migration were subsequently imple- mented. After analysing the short-term action, the third part focuses on long-term resettlement and rehabilitation in order to explore feasible solutions to different flows of migrants in the longer term. The paper notably establishes connections between environmental and economic factors before and after the migration process. On the one hand, an exten- sive thriving economy would exacerbate environmental risks, thus inducing more natural disasters and migration problems. On the other hand, given existing prob- lems, environmental migration could represent a proactive solution for this under- developed area to obviate the vicious circle regarding its development and accelerate economic growth. 1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1. Country Profile – China As shown in Figure 1, China is prone to droughts, floods, cyclones, earthquakes and various other types of natural disasters.
    [Show full text]
  • Asian Alpine E-News Issue No.54
    ASIAN ALPINE E-NEWS Issue No. 54 August 2019 Contents Journey through south Yushu of Qinghai Province, eastern Tibet Nangqen to Mekong Headwaters, July 2019 Tamotsu (Tom) Nakamura Part 1 Buddhists’ Kingdom-Monasteries, rock peaks, blue poppies Page 2~16 Part 2 From Mekong Headwaters to upper Yangtze River. Page 17~32 1 Journey through south Yushu of Qinghai Province, eastern Tibet Nangqen to Mekong Headwaters, July 2019 Tamotsu (Tom) Nakamura Part 1 Buddhists’ Kingdom – Monasteries, rock peaks, blue poppies “Yushu used to be a strategic point of Qinghai, explorers’ crossroads and killing field of frontier.” Geography and Climate of Yushu With an elevation of around 3,700 metres (12,100 ft), Yushu has an alpine subarctic climate, with long, cold, very dry winters, and short, rainy, and mild summers. Average low temperatures are below freezing from early/mid October to late April; however, due to the wide diurnal temperature variation, the average high never lowers to the freezing mark. Despite frequent rain during summer, when a majority of days sees rain, only June, the rainiest month, has less than 50% of possible sunshine; with monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 49% in June to 66% in November, the city receives 2,496 hours of bright sunshine annually. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) in January to 12.7 °C (54.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.22 °C (37.8 °F). About three-fourths of the annual precipitation of 486 mm (19.1 in) is delivered from June to September.
    [Show full text]
  • 45030-002: Yunnan Sustainable Road Maintenance (Sector) Project
    Environmental Monitoring Report Project Number: 45030-002 August 2017 PRC: Yunnan Sustainable Road Maintenance (Sector) Project Prepared by the Yunnan Highway Administration Bureau for the People’s Republic of China and the Asian Development Bank This environmental monitoring report is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. Asian Development Bank Environmental Monitoring Report Project Number: 45030-002 Semi-annual Report August 2017 People’s Republic of China: Yunnan Sustainable Road Maintenance (Sector) Project Prepared by Prepared by the Yunnan Highway Administration Bureau for the People’s Republic of China and the Asian Development Bank This environmental monitoring report is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. PRC-3074: Yunnan Sustainable Road Maintenance (Sector) Project The Environmental Monitoring Report in the First Half of 2017 For Phase II and Phase III-Road Maintenance Subprojects Drafted in August 2017 Prepared by the Yunnan Highway Administration Bureau for the Asian Development Bank i Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY V I.
    [Show full text]