2010 Gansu mudslide

Coordinates: 33°47′N 104°22′E / 33.783°N 104.367°E / 33.783; 104.367

The 2010 Gansu mudslide was a deadly mudslide in Zhouqu County, Gansu Province, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, China that occurred at midnight on 8 August 2010. The floods were triggered after decades of clear cut logging practices had reduced the ability of the watershed to absorb heavy rainfall.^[2][3]

2010 Gansu mudslide

Landslide Show map of Gansu Landslide Show map of China
Date	8 August 2010
Time	≈23:00 CST (UTC+08:00)
Location	Zhouqu County, Gansu, China
Type	Landslide
Deaths	1,471^[1]
Missing	294

It was the most deadly individual disaster of the 2010 China floods. The mudslides killed more than 1,471 people as of 21 August 2010^[update], while 1,243 others have been rescued and 294 remain missing.^{[1][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]} The missing were presumed dead as officials ordered locals to stop searching for survivors or bodies to prevent the spread of disease.^[11] Over 1,700 people evacuated have been living in schools.^[5]

Cause

External image
Map and satellite image of the affected area^[12]

Zhugqu County was the worst hit location, where mud submerged houses and tore multi-story blocks of flats to pieces. The seat of Zhouqu County was densely populated, with 50,000 people (42,000 of them are permanent population) in an area of 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi).^[13] After the heavy rain, there was a buildup of water behind a dam of debris blocking a small river to the north of the city of Zhugqu; when the dam broke, around 1,800,000 cubic metres (64,000,000 cu ft) of mud and rocks swept through the town, in a surge reported as up to five stories high, covering more than 300 low-rise homes and burying at least one village entirely.^[14][15] The mudslide left an area 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long by 300 metres (980 ft) wide in average leveled by mud with average thickness of 5 meters (16 ft).^[16][17]

According to Gyurme Dorje's Tibet Handbook, the forest region of Zhugqu has, since the 1950s, "shrunk by 30% and the reserve of timber reduced by 25% due to overfelling. The sand in the river water has increased by 60%, and the water volume has reduced by 8%, resulting in increased flooding and drought." Furthermore, in this county there were between 47 and 53 hydroelectric construction projects in recent years, with 41 completed and 12 approaching deadline, according to government data. These together have caused 749,000 tons of water and soil erosion and over 3,000,000 cubic meters of bulldozed material. In 2006, a Lanzhou University report concluded that these projects have made the whole area a volatile danger-zone.^{[18][dubious ]} The Christian Science Monitor reported that two science researchers had predicted the mudslides in 1997.^[19]

The People's Daily has argued that the mudslide was due to a "perfect storm" of natural events, including "soft" "weathered" rock, heavy rainfall, drought, and the Sichuan earthquake two years before.^[20] Authorities dismissed claims that the mudslides were "man-made".^[21]

Relief

The Gansu province has received 120,000,000 Chinese yuan (US$17,000,700 ) by 13 August.^[8] Hong Kong and Macau both donated millions of dollars to Gansu, with Macau donating more than US$7 million,^[22][23][24] and the United States donated $50,000 to Zhugqu County.^[25] Gyaincain Norbu, China's 11th Panchen Lama choice, donated ¥50,000 to relief efforts and prayed for the victims.^[26]

Reaction

On 15 August, a day of mourning was observed, with flags lowered to half-mast at government buildings within China and at embassies in foreign countries. Additionally, all public and online entertainment was suspended, and major newspapers and internet sites were grayscaled. At the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, all activities were canceled. Such events are rare in China; only after an earlier earthquake in 2010 and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in recent years have such periods of mourning been observed.^[10]

References

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2010 Gansu mudslide.

1. Deng, Shasha (2 September 2010). . Xinhua. Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
2. . Xinhua News Agency. 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
3. . NPR. 9 August 2010. Archived from the original on 9 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
4. Wang, Guanqun (21 August 2010). . Xinhua. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
5. Wire Staff, the CNN (20 August 2010). "Mudslide death toll in northwestern China rises to 1,407". Cable News Network. from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2010. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
6. . Xinhua News Agency. 19 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
7. "China declares day of mourning for flood victims". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 August 2010. from the original on 17 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
8. Wang, Peng (14 August 2010). . Xinhua. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
9. "Death toll climbs to 1,117 in China mudslides". CNN. 11 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
10. . Xinhua. 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
11. Xing, Guangli (22 August 2010). . Xinhua. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
12. Ren, Diandong (16 April 2014). "The devastating Zhouqu storm-triggered debris flow of August 2010: Likely causes and possible trends in a future warming climate: future Peri-Himalayan extreme precip". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 119 (7): 3643–3662. doi:10.1002/2013JD020881. S2CID 129152340.
13. . Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
14. "Mudslide disaster strikes Tibetan region of China". Euronews. 8 August 2010. from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
15. Litany of warnings preceded mudslides, SCMP, 10 August 2010
16. . Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
17. An image of the disaster region is at . Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-11. – note that north is to the right in that image.
18. Dorje, Gyurme (2004). Tibet Handbook (3rd ed.). Footprint Travel Guides. p. 682. ISBN 978-1-903471-30-2.
19. Ford, Peter (12 August 2010). "China mudslides were predicted 13 years ago". The Christian Science Monitor. from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
20. Foyle, Robert (11 August 2010). "Gansu landslide: Another manmade disaster?". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
21. Zhang, CriEnglish.com (13 August 2010). "Landslide Not "Man-Made": Authorities". Crienglish.com. from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
22. Society, China (12 August 2010). "Hong Kong, Macao donate to mainland disaster areas". People's Daily Online. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
23. Mo, Hong'e (12 August 2010). . Xinhua. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
24. Society, China (13 August 2010). "HK proposes 50 mln HKD for mudslide victims in Gansu province". People's Daily Online. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
25. Xinhua, English.news.cn (11 August 2010). . Xinhuanet. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
26. "Panchen Lama prays for mudslide victims". China Daily. 15 August 2010. from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2010.