WUHAN: During the flood season this summer, orange farmers in the mountain villages of central China’s Hubei Province have welcomed teams of geologists who come to assess the hazardous cliffs along the roads their harvest depends on.
It is an innovative disaster-prevention initiative by the Wuhan Center of China Geological Survey, which has dispatched geological experts to conduct on-site inspections of dangerous rock masses in the mountainous areas.
Deep in the mountains of western Hubei, a narrow five-to-six-meter road snakes upward on the slopes. It is the only route for some 700 villagers of Tuzhumiao Village in Zigui County, and the lifeline for transporting navel oranges, the area’s pillar produce. Not long ago, a special team of “doctors” arrived at the site where a landslide had taken place along the road. Wearing safety helmets, they bent down to carefully inspect rock crevices and monitor slope changes – conducting a “physical examination” of the mountain.
“The dangerous rock mass consists of medium-thick bedded siltstone with mudstone inside. Like a sandwich cookie, its middle layer has poor stability. Even worse, the rock mass easily absorbs rainwater, prone to deformation and destabilization,” said Xu Yong, a professor-level senior engineer at the Wuhan center.
On the opposite mountainside, a 3D laser scanner tracked every subtle shift in the rock face.
Overhead, a drone equipped with survey equipment maneuvered above the site, capturing images from multiple angles. Together, these operations delivered a full “CT scan” of the dangerous rock mass, allowing experts to examine the mountain’s overall risks.
“Under the combined effects of rainfall erosion and gravitational unloading, there is a risk of further collapse and deformation here,” Xu said. He recommended that local authorities designate warning zones, erect warning signs, and assign dedicated personnel for routine monitoring of the collapsed area.
“Any signs of rock mass deformation should be reported immediately upon detection, while efforts to implement engineering treatment measures should be accelerated,” Xu added.
This kind of cliffside “diagnosis” exemplifies Hubei’s innovative approach to geological disaster prevention. By sending experts to reach “every village,” the province is working to prevent and mitigate geological risks, especially during the summer flood season.
Hubei’s vast mountainous terrain and complex geological conditions leave hazard spots scattered across villages. Hidden dangers in mountain gullies and behind houses are easily missed by grassroots teams. Professional inspections are essential in disaster prevention, according to the provincial department of natural resources.
Since the flood season began, dozens of experts from the center have been sent to villages across high-risk geological disaster areas in western and eastern Hubei, conducting on-site inspections and providing tech-support in organizing evacuations and handling hazard risks.
As experts ventured into the mountains, public education on geological hazards advanced as well, with villagers learning to recognize the early warning signs of landslides and collapses. In addition to improving their ability to identify geological risks and take self-rescue measures, many villagers are now becoming “geological disaster observers.”
From July 10 when the initiative was launched to Aug. 28, Hubei screened 34,283 geological hazard risks and identified 1,528 new dangerous sites. Nine successful evacuations were organized after inspectors spotted abnormal mountain deformations, with 34 people from 10 households relocated to safety.
Zhao Xinwen, deputy chief engineer of the center, said sudden and clustered geological disasters have in recent years become more frequent due to human engineering activities and extreme rainfall, requiring more systematic, long-term prevention mechanisms.
A joint geological disaster prevention workstation has been established in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in collaboration with the center and provincial departments. More such workstations will be set up to strengthen risk prevention and control capabilities, the center said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
