Earthquake hits Northwestern Yunnan: Update & Implications

In what is becoming a more and more frequent occurrence, an earthquake hit southwestern China’s Yunnan Province yesterday (Saturday, August 31). The earthquake, measured at a 5.9 on the Richter scale, struck near the town of Benzilan, located in Yunnan’s Deqin Tibetan Autonomous Region. According to the latest reports from Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency, five people died and over ten were injured in the earthquake. In one instance, a tremor-induced landslide caused a tour bus to crash, killing the driver and injuring passengers. The earthquake caused damage to homes and business throughout the county. According to state media, over 55,000 buildings sustained damage, causing 9,000 people to relocate. 600 homes were completely toppled due to the earthquake. While the area around Benzilan was most severely affected, other parts of the region also felt the tremors. “During the earthquake this morning, the swaying the county felt was relatively severe,” Xinhua quoted Liao Wencai, deputy party secretary of Deqin county, as saying. Residents of Shangri-La, a tourist hotspot 60 kilometers from Benzilan also felt the earthquake, though no buildings were damaged. For residents of the region and China watchers in general, reports of an earthquake in southwestern China are somewhat of a normal occurrence. Saturday’s earthquake came on the heels of a 5.1 magnitude quake on Wednesday, also in Deqin county. In addition, Sichuan Province, Yunnan’s northern neighbor, experienced a 6.6 magnitude earthquake earlier this year that killed 200 people. This is all just five years after the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake that caused over 80,000 deaths and billions of dollars in damage.

An often-overlooked aspect of these earthquakes are their effect on infrastructure, especially hydro-electric dams in the region. Yunnan itself is home to dozens of sizable rivers, including three of the continent’s largest (the Yangtze, Mekong, and Nu Rivers). A number of these rivers already have existing hyrdopower projects on them, in addition to plans for future projects. The Mekong itself (known as the Lancang in China) already has seven existing hydroelectric dams and has plans for more. The Yangtze, which is called the Jinsha in its upper reaches, has almost 100 dams planned for construction. Similarly, the Nu, Hongshui and Jiulong rivers have over 30 dams slated for construction in the coming decade.

Southwestern China, as evidenced by events in the past few years, is an earthquake-prone zone. It also happens to be the home of many major rivers that flow from an extremely high elevation in the Tibetan Plateau to a quick drop in elevation in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, making them ideal for hydropower projects. However, the geography of the region creates an inherent problem – a face off between China’s energy industry and the forces of nature. Up until now, there has not been a case where an earthquake leads to a collapsed dam, causing something like an inland tsunami. These are not Hollywood disaster movie scenarios – this is a real threat for a region home to more than 100 million people. This weekend’s earthquake in Benzilan, which itself sits right near the upstream portions of the Yangtze, Nu and Mekong Rivers, is just a reminder of how precarious a position Southwestern China is in.