Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Three Gorges Quake Warning System to Be Set Up
Adjust font size:

A network of 21 digital earthquake monitoring stations is to be set up in the Chongqing section of the Three Gorges Reservoir area by the end of next year, a local earthquake official said on Tuesday.

Estimated to cost 29.6 million yuan (US$3.7 million), the stations will monitor seismological activity around the clock, said Zhang Rong, head of the Earthquake Prevention Office of the Chongqing Municipal Seismological Bureau.

Construction of the Three Gorges Project, the world's biggest hydroelectric project, began on the Yangtze River in 1993 and is expected to be completed in 2008, a year ahead of schedule. The huge reservoir was filled from June 2003, inundating more than 220 counties in Chongqing and Hubei Province on the river's upper and middle reaches.

Geological disasters like landslides and mud-rock flows were common before the construction of the Three Gorges Project, sparking fears of possible calamities after water storage began.

The government has invested more than 4 billion yuan (US$482 million) in the prevention and control of geological disasters in the Three Gorges area.

The stations would provide technical support for security of the Three Gorges Reservoir and prevent damage caused by earthquakes and other disasters, Zhang said.

A geographical disaster database for the reservoir area has also been established and advanced technologies like satellite remote sensing are being used to monitor the geological situation.

The project, including a 2,309-meter-long, 185-meter-high dam equipped with 26 generators, is expected to produce 84.7 billion kWh of electricity annually when completed. It is also expected to control flooding on the Yangtze, fuel industrial growth and upgrade the shipping industry.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2006)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read

Related Stories
Earthquake Exercise Assesses Readiness
Earthquakes Main Natural Disaster Killer in China
Record Number of Tourists Visit Three Gorges Dam Area
Three Gorges Ready for Possible Grave Floods

Product Directory
China Search
Country Search
Hot Buys
SiteMap | About Us | RSS | Newsletter | Feedback
SEARCH THIS SITE
Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved     E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-88828000 京ICP证 040089号