China quake: burst dams, damaged nuclear power plants, rising death toll

Officials have also warned of dangers from increased strain on local dams as well as mudslides on brittle hillsides where rain has been forecast over the next few days.

Two hydropower stations in Maoxian county, where 7,000 residents and tourists remain stranded near the epicenter, were "seriously damaged". Authorities warned that dams could burst.

Landslides had blocked the flow of two rivers in northern Qingchuan county, forming a huge lake in a region where 1,000 have already died and 700 are buried, Xinhua said.

"The rising water could cause the mountains to collapse. We desperately need geological experts to carry out tests and fix a rescue plan," Xinhua quoted Li Hao, the county's Communist Party chief, as saying.

The Ministry of Water Resources said that an irrigation system and Dujiangyan City -- which has a population of about 630,000 -- "would be swamped," if major problems emerged at the dam, China.org said.

About 2,000 troops were sent to work on a dam near the epicenter of Monday's earthquake, state-run media reported.

The Zipingpu dam, upriver from Dujiangyan in Sichuan province, was in "great danger," the Xinhua news agency reported.

China.org said that the 7.9-magnitude earthquake had caused "severe cracks" in the dam.

Nuclear facilities in Sichuan may have been damaged by the quake that hit the Chinese province on Monday, France's nuclear watchdog has warned.
 
The Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety said that nuclear research reactors or facilities used to produce nuclear fuel were located within 100km of the quake's epicenter.

But the industrial city of Mianyang, where thousands were killed by the quake and more than 18,000 are believed trapped under rubble, is home to the headquarters of China's nuclear weapons design industry.

The French watchdog was more reassuring about China's four nuclear sites producing electricity because all are located more than 1,000km from the epicentre of the 7.9 quake.
 
The institute said it was waiting for Chinese inspections to confirm that the four electricity-producing sites in eastern China - Lingao, Daya Bay, Qinshan and Tianwan – were unharmed.
 
"It is probable that these reactors suffered no notable damage," it said.

At one three-story school in Sichuan's Qingchuan county 178
students were confirmed dead after the building collapsed, a local
official said. Rescuers found at least 500 dead Tuesday in the Chinese district at the epicenter of the quake.

During a visit to a school in Shifang, where more than 100 children were trapped beneath rubble, Wen promised that saving lives was a top priority.

"We will put our best efforts forward to save all those alive who can
be saved," he said. "This disaster has all tested us. We all have to
band together and have confidence and push forward."

Li Chengyun, vice governor of Sichuan, said about 3.5 million homes
were destroyed in the province. David Jones, an English teacher in the
city of Chengdu, said: "People are doing everything they can to stay
outside," he said. "In a lot of cases, they can't return to their
buildings."

Rescue workers pulled a woman who was eight months pregnant to safety
Wednesday after she spent 50 hours trapped under earthquake rubble.

Zhang and the other woman were trapped about 5.5 meters (18 feet) up in
a pile of concrete slabs and other debris after their building
collapsed. There was no immediate word on the fate of the baby.

Safety officials could speak to Zhang Xiaoyan but had to proceed
slowly due to fears the rubble above her would shift and collapse.

"It is very moving. It's a miracle brought about by us all working
together," said Sun Guoli, the fire chief of nearby Chengdu, the
provincial capital.