Dams on China's Yellow River near collapse: state media

Terra Daily via Agence France-Presse: Several dams on China's mighty Yellow River are close to collapse just a few years after they were built amid concerns that over 40 percent of the nation's reservoirs are unsafe, state media said Friday. Shoddy construction, unqualified workers and embezzlement of funds are threatening dams' safety in the northwestern province of Gansu, the official China Daily said -- a situation that could also put people in danger.

"Several dams on branches of the Yellow River in Gansu province are near collapse only one or two years after their construction," the paper said. Citing an investigation by the state-run China Youth Daily newspaper, the report pointed to one dam built in 2006 in Huan county on the Yellow River that has developed a dangerous breach in the middle. Locals were quoted as saying that at least five newly built dams in the area were in very poor condition….

A bridge across the Yellow River in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province. Photo by Colegota, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons "Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Spain" License