BEIJING: Chinese experts have intensified monitoring of landslides, barrier lakes, glaciers and glacial lakes around the mudslide-hit area in Gyirong county, Xizang autonomous region, to guard against secondary disasters and ensure the safety of ongoing rescue operations.
The mudslide, which occurred on Aug 26, caused significant casualties and left many people missing in the region.
Su Pengcheng, a researcher at the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said during a group interview with Chinese and foreign media in Gyirong on Sunday that experts from multiple government departments and research institutions had been mobilized soon after the disaster. While rescue operations were underway, specialists began analyzing the causes of the disaster and assessing potential geological risks to provide safety support for frontline rescuers, Su said.
The road leading to the core rescue area was reopened in less than a week, while monitoring and risk assessment continued in parallel. One priority has been closely tracking changes in a barrier lake formed after the disaster to prevent any sudden discharge from threatening downstream areas.
Authorities have also deployed professional monitoring equipment, including remote slope-deformation cameras, slope radars and satellite remote-sensing systems, to continuously assess the stability of slopes and residual deposits in the disaster-hit area.
Particular attention has been paid to potentially unstable material remaining on slopes near the affected valley, which could trigger further landslides or debris flows and pose risks to downstream rescue operations, Su said. Experts have also conducted comprehensive geological hazard surveys around five villages in the affected river basin and along National Highway G216, a key emergency rescue route, to identify potential dangers and ensure the route remains safe
Monitoring has extended beyond the core disaster area, with satellite and aerial remote sensing being used to track changes in surrounding glaciers and glacial lakes, which are widely distributed across the high-altitude region.
Su said the operation has brought together expertise from emergency management, natural resources, meteorology and water resources authorities, as well as research institutions, with a range of monitoring equipment deployed.
Experts are also using real-time images transmitted by drones to assess changing conditions. Their findings are promptly relayed to downstream teams, allowing search and rescue personnel to adjust operations when risks emerge.
Su said the coordinated monitoring system is intended to provide continuous early warning of possible secondary geological disasters while rescue work continues. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
