Another Strong Aftershock Rattles China

Tremor Comes As Soldiers Frantically Blast Away At Debris Around Burgeoning Lake

(AP)  A strong aftershock rattled cities in a region of China already devastated by last month's earthquake.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the temblor Monday afternoon at magnitude 5.

China's official Xinhua News Agency says the aftershock shook the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu and the hard-hit city of Mianyang for about 10 seconds.

It was not known whether the aftershock affected the brimming Tangjiashan lake, which was threatening to burst its dam and flood more than 1 million people downstream.

An additional 120 troops were sent Monday to help soldiers with explosives and anti-tank weapons blast rocks and mud slowing the drainage of the still-rising lake.

By Monday morning, the water level in the earthquake-formed Tangjiashan lake had reached more than six feet above a spillway carved into the dam last week to divert water and release pressure on the unstable dam wall, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

An earlier magnitude 5.0 aftershock Sunday sent landslides down surrounding mountains and underscored the threat of flooding. Authorities had been on alert both for increased rainfall and new aftershocks that could weaken the dam or send more debris plunging into the lake.

Television and official Web sites showed People's Liberation Army troops firing 82-millimeter recoilless guns at debris on Sunday. The troops dislodged enough debris to speed the drainage, but the level continued to rise with the inflow from the blocked river behind the dam, Xinhua reported.

David Petley, a geography professor at Britain's University of Durham, said the situation at the lake appeared to be reaching a crisis level. "The teams on the dam are fighting a desperate battle now," he said. "The outcome is very uncertain."

The rising water level indicates the outflow was not fast enough, Petley said. From news photos, he said, there are indications that the top of the dam was holding, instead of eroding slowly as it should, while the channel farther down was eroding too quickly.

That could potentially place increased pressure on the dam by suddenly sucking down large volumes of water, overwhelming the barrier, Petley said.

More than 250,000 people downstream have been evacuated in recent weeks, adding to the turmoil created by last month's massive earthquake in China's Sichuan province. Many were living in improvised camps on surrounding hillsides, surviving on instant noodles and suffering from heat, mosquitoes and a lack of water for bathing.

The death toll from the quake climbed Sunday to 69,136, with 17,686 people still missing.

Tangjiashan lake was formed when rubble from a massive landslide set off by the May 12 quake blocked the flow of the Tongkou River, also known as the Jianjiang.

Wooden houses, boulders and other debris have been blasted to speed the flow of water into the spillway. Other troops have been deepening the channel and digging on a second spillway.

Managing the Tangjiashan lake has become a priority for a government working to head off another catastrophe even as it cares for millions left homeless by the 7.9 magnitude quake. More than 1.3 million people live downriver from Tangjiashan.

The Tangjiashan lake is the largest of more than 30 created by last month's quake. Government experts quoted by state media have played down the threat of imminent flooding, though a variety of factors could set off a dam collapse: rain, aftershocks, landslides, increased leakage from the barrier.

[vietnam21]

BUDDIST are punish China for killing monks and invade other ASIAN COUNTRIES

[acolton1]

Strong after shocks will be hitting the area for the next 6 month to a year. After a MAJOR quake the earth has to settle and after shocks are how the earth does that. I was in LA in 1994 when the North Ridge Quake went off and there were hundreds of after shocks within the next 2 weeks and after shocks still months later. China will keep getting these after shocks for quite a while.

[al2008-2009]

To .exe cute chic - the suffering of our mother is nothing to kid about.
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To those of us who know we are in the battle of our lifetimes, in the fight against c02, in the battle to save mother earth, I would like to encourage you to keep helping mother earth with your time, effort, and massive displays of financial support; congratulations, and keep up the good work.
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To those who continue to rant, complain, and stick your heads in the sand and deny global warming, please sit still and stop kicking and screaming like little children. You cannot fight change; we will get Obama elected and you will learn to live responsibly and pay your fair share of c02 taxes.
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You will learn to give mother earth the respect and honor she needs and deserves, and you will accept the progressive regulations that will finally help bring our mother back into peace and harmony and balance. As Obama has recently stated on Earth Day, we will save the planet.
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We will save mother earth, irregardless of a few little children who choose to act like babies. Grow up. We are fighting for the change mother earth needs, a change we can all believe in, and we are winning; come join us today. Click on Obama%u2019s website under people and then click enviornmentalists, get the facts, and donate as much as you can; thank you for helping us save mother earth in these, the most critical days of our mother%u2019s history.

[eXecuTech]

AL2007, quit repeating regurgitated government propaganda and DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!!! The temperature of this planet has not risen in TEN YEARS!!! "Global warming" caused by humans is a myth and you''re just another of the sleeping sheeple who is eating the government cheese and getting constipation of the brain.

The abject ARROGANCE of people like you and those who deign to "control" climate is staggering to me. This planet has been going through catastrophic environmental change since the day it was born, and will continue to until the day it dies. To think that humans, who have only existed on it for a comparative blip in time could have any significant effect on it is just pure ego indulgence. The world is bigger than us, the solar system is bigger than the world, and the universe is big enough to contain it all. Look at the REAL big picture, not just the illusions you see in front of your face.

What happens when we waste the estimated $40 TRILLION on all this BS to "fix" "global warming" and NOTHING CHANGES??? People like you and the govgoons you listen to will look like the smacked ***** you are and we''ll all be financially devastated.

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE, NOT THE SENSATIONALISM!

[al2008-2009]

I*m appalled at the administration*s lack of response to the global warming earthquakes, hurricanes, and cyclones as well. We have no comprehensive strategy in place whatsoever, let alone a detailed plan of action to mitigate the effects of these quakes and cyclones, and mother earth continues to suffer while the administration refuses to go forward and do what*s right for mother earth.
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How long must we sit idly by while our mother continues to suffer from the warming taking place at a feverish pace? How long must our mother suffer before we have proper c02 taxes put into place? How long must the destruction of mother earth take place before we finally put responsible regulations into effect? How long must we wait until we beef up our corn ethanol production? At least Obama wants to cut c02 pollution by 80%; he is definitely our best hope. As Obama has recently stated on Earth Day, we will save the planet. We will change our economy to a green economy, eliminate our current anti-progressive economy, and eliminate c02 pollution by 80% in our generation. This is a change we all definitely need, a much needed change for the better.
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We the people call upon our leaders to implement a comprehensive antiglobal warming strategy at once and work in coordination with state and federal officials; these quakes, cyclones and disasters continue to worsen and the quicker we stop the warming the sooner we will see these quakes and storms cease. We need action now.