PLA race time to deal with quake lake

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Source: CCTV.com | 06-08-2008 12:38

There were over 30 quake lakes formed after the May 12th earthquake triggered landslides that blocked rivers. One of them in Anxian county is considered at a high risk of rupturing. PLA soldiers and engineers are taking action to prevent any danger.

PLA soldiers and engineers are taking action to prevent the danger of rupturing in one quake lake in Anxian County .

This quake lake is in a critical situation.

Located at the bottom of a valley, it now holds 2.3 million cubic meters of water, posing a severe threat to over 50-thousand people living in low-lying areas.

PLA soldiers and engineers have to take helicopters to get at the site due to the surrounding steep mountains. What they need to do is dig a diversion channel near a blockage site of the lake. The 60-meter-wide and 140-meter-high dam was formed when the May 12th quake caused landslides. The troops say it's definitely no easy job.

Wang Zhimin, Deputy Political Commissar of 2nd Artillery Command said "It's very hard. There is another quake lake upstream. And landslides and aftershocks are threatening us. We are not able to transport large machinery here because of the narrow mountainous path. And the road is not opened yet. All the machinery at the site were transported by our soldiers using their bare hands."

In addition to those difficulties, engineers at the site say over 20 big rocks laying on the top of the blockage are hampering the operation.

Explosives are the only way to deal with the problem.

Shi Chuanli, Chief Engineer of Engineering Department of 2nd Artillery Command said "We need at least a thousand times of such an explosion to smash the rocks blocking us and open a sluice."

The chief engineer says the water level of the lake is only six to seven meters below the warning line and is likely to rise. Draining the lake will take at least five days of work for the troops. Soldiers are racing against time.

Editor:Xiong Qu