And out of disaster comes... a new tourist destination. Thanks to the May 12 earthquake, Beichuan county got a large new lake, and Chinese scientists and government officials are already figuring out how to maximize its tourism potential.
Tangjiashan Lake was formed after the side of a mountain fell in and blocked a river. It's already been decided that it's safe and stable, so the next step is to decide how to keep it a scenic spot ripe for tourists.
We see plenty of potential for poorly-translated Chinglish signs here and perhaps a few new rules for tourists to follow. Or, here's an idea, let's just have a pretty lake with a few picnic tables. How about it, China?
China continues to deal with the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake, while aid continues to trickle into also-suffering Myanmar. In China, officials are worried that the Zipingpu Dam may have been damaged by the 7.9-magnitude quake. We're not engineers, but it seems likely: One look at our map shows how close it was to the epicenter of the May 12 temblor.
The endangered dam sits just upstream from Dujiangyan, a city of several thousand people that is home to a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System was built in 256 BC and is still in use today.
Hundreds of other dams in Sichuan may have been damaged, but officials say the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province is safe. The monumental construction project/environmental disaster-in-waiting sits about 350 miles east the earthquake epicenter.
Asia is having a tragically terrible month. Days after a cyclone ripped Myanmar to shreds, a powerful earthquake rattled China, killing thousands in the western province of Sichuan. Home to the famous Wolong Nature Reserve, the region is also known for its eponymous cooking style, epitomized in kung pao chicken.
Offices in Beijing--more than 950 miles from the epicenter--swayed for more than two minutes, and the quake was felt as far away as Bangkok, Hanoi and Taipei. Rescue efforts are ongoing.
A series of fairly powerful earthquakes hit Japan today, rocking Ibaraki Prefecture, just north of Tokyo. There were no fatalities and no fear of a tsunami, though tremors could continue in the coming hours. The last earthquake of this magnitude hit the island nation last year; it killed 11 people.
Even though damage this time was light, it must've been an interesting experience for the most high-profile tourist in Tokyo right now: Chinese President Hu Jintao. The leader is meeting with his Japanese counterparts in an effort to smooth relations between the two countries, which have been frosty for the past decade.
More news is rolling in from Peru after a 8.0 magnitude earthquake shook the country's southern coastal areas. (Early reports of the quake's magnitude have been revised.) Already online are a Wikipedia page and photos on Flickr, documenting the disaster that killed hundreds, injured many more and even damaged buildings in Lima, 165 miles away. The quake was so powerful that scientists predict an 8-inch-high tsunami will wash up in Japan. Tomorrow.
The hardest hit area, closest to the epicenter, is Ica Region, south of the nation's capital. Government officials say more than half of Pisco--famous for its namesake grape brandy--has been destroyed. Buildings throughout the region have collapsed and there are widespread power outages. With roads destroyed, getting around, for tourists, locals and rescuers will be problematic at best.
Something is seriously amiss with the Pacific this week. Just days after Hawaii gets walloped with both a trembler and a hurricane-turned-tropical storm, Peru suffers a massive earthquake that killed at least 337 people. The worst to hit the country in 30 years, it clocked in at 7.9 on the Richter scale, making it 100 times more powerful than the quake that rocked Hawaii.
Aftershocks continued to rattle the country after the main event last night, but a feared tsunami never materialized. Though the epicenter was 165 miles from Lima, the capital certainly felt the earthquake's effects, residents said:
Usually you don't feel a tremor when outside, but the pavement was rippling, so I fled to the park where the ground continued to move under our feet...What was even more frightening was the roar of the quake coupled with the sky lighting up. It was surreal - if felt like we had stepped onto the set of some war movie"
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by amandak
