Beijing, July 20 (IANS) Reservoirs in China are ticking time-bombs waiting to explode every rainy season as the system is vast but its management remains flawed, a report has detailed.
“China has built more reservoirs and dams than any other country in the world, nearly 100,000 by official estimates. These massive water conservancy projects were intended to store water, generate electricity, and control floods. Yet, every rainy season, these very structures transform into ticking time-bombs. Instead of protecting lives, they often unleash devastation on downstream communities, exposing the fragility of China’s dam infrastructure and the negligence of its management practices,” Sun Lee, pseudonym for a writer who covers Asia and geopolitical affairs, wrote for Myanmar’s ‘Mizzima’ news outlet.
Reservoir authorities in China frequently open floodgates at night, leading to downstream residents not having enough escape time. Villagers are often sleeping when torrents of water surge through their homes, sweeping away families, livestock and livelihoods. Houses were submerged up to rooftops after floodwaters increased through residential areas in early July, according to eyewitnesses from Hang Joe in Guangxi province.
Some residents were able to survive by climbing onto rooftops while others were swept away during the night. By releasing water without providing prior information, officials shift responsibility from dam failures and term disasters as “natural floods.” However, the fact is these tragedies are man-made and the result is deliberate mismanagement, according to the Mizzima report.
The recent catastrophe occurred on July 6, when the Liulan Reservoir in Na Ning, Guangxi province collapsed after days of continuous rain from Typhoon Mesa. Villagers reported that water began increasing around 3 am (local time), long before any official notice was issued and it breached by 7 am (local time). Towns like Yanbiao and Yunbiao were submerged, crops destroyed, fish ponds washed away, and hundreds of residents were trapped without food, water, or electricity.
Last week, floods triggered by rounds of torrential rains have left 39 people dead and nine others missing in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Chinese authorities said. The death toll includes the casualties resulting from a severe reservoir breach in the regional capital city of Nanning, according to a flood control and disaster relief press conference, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The collapse of Liulan Reservoir is not a single incident as a notice from the Ning Municipal Water Resources Bureau in 2022 revealed that 65 water conservancy projects had failed to complete required engineering quality checks. Similarly, in 1975, the Banqiao Reservoir in Henan province collapsed after a typhoon, releasing nearly 700 million cubic meters of water, with floods claiming tens of thousands lives instantly and left hundreds of thousands more to perish from starvation and disease.
“China’s reservoir system is vast, but its management is deeply flawed. The government’s profit-driven ideology prioritises power generation and industrial needs over human safety. By failing to issue timely warnings, by ignoring engineering standards, and by silencing criticism, authorities perpetuate a cycle of disaster. Each rainy season becomes a gamble for millions living downstream: will the dams hold, or will they collapse again?,” Lee wrote in Mizzima.
“The widespread use of mobile phones and social media has made it harder for the government to hide these tragedies. Videos from villagers now expose the reality in real time, challenging official narratives. Yet, without accountability, the cycle will continue. China’s reservoirs were meant to symbolize progress, but they have become symbols of peril. Built with substandard materials, managed with secrecy, and unleashed without warning, they are ticking time-bombs waiting to explode each rainy season. Until transparency, accountability, and engineering integrity are prioritized, downstream communities will remain at risk sacrificed to a system that values control over compassion,” he mentioned further.
–IANS
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