Pithaly

On the one hand, Reuters says that the danger has INCREASED due to the fast draining of the lake.

On the other hand AFP reports that the fast draining of the lake has allowed the water levels to fall and has eased the risk.

I think this is a catch 22 situation!


MIANYANG, China (Reuters) - Muddy lake water from a dangerously unstable "quake lake" rushed into the devastated Chinese town of Beichuan on Tuesday, covering about a third of the ruins, after soldiers used explosives to widen a sluice.

Brown water, clumps of trees and occasional vehicles were moving quickly into low-lying areas of the town, washing away remains of corpses, family mementoes and valuables left under the rubble.

The water level at the Tangjiashan quake lake, formed by China's most devastating earthquake in decades, dropped by nearly eight meters (26 ft) in three hours on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency said.

Helicopters were evacuating remaining soldiers and experts from the top of the dam, which was no longer safe with cracks appearing as the flow of water accelerated by more than tenfold, Xinhua said, adding some mountains near the lake had started crumbling.


http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK30372720080610

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MIANYANG, China (AFP) — Water is finally gushing out of a dangerous quake lake, China said on Tuesday, after firing missiles and using dynamite and bulldozers to clear more diversion channels.

Shortly before noon, water was draining out nearly 60 times faster than it was flowing in, after boulders were destroyed and other huge debris removed, the state Xinhua news agency said.

China's military had resorted to the dramatic measure of firing 10 small missiles to blast away huge boulders that were blocking the path of one of the channels.

The falling water levels have eased the immediate dangers posed by the Tangjiashan lake, created when landslides blocked a river in southwest China's mountainous Sichuan province during the devastating May 12 earthquake.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5juH8uynH8Cwzw1QnsxrnYblgek7w