Mass Wasting in China

The devastating landslide in Zhouqu, China that killed many and made many homeless has a lot of causes and ways that could have some what prevented it. China is one of the worlds hot spots for landslides, the ground is very shaky. The main issue, according to Zhou Pinggen, head of CIGEM’s geological risk survey and monitoring office, is that the region has been through almost half a century of unrestrained logging. Year by year, forests have declined and the environment has been damaged beyond its capacity to recover. By the time local government woke up to reality and started planting trees to stabilise the soil, the vegetation was unable to take root on the steep, thinly soiled slopes. Many mountain tops have been stripped bare by the logging. They have made efforts to help restore way of life in the western part of China. The restoration of a permanent water supply started in Zhouqu county in northwest China's Gansu Province as the rebuilding of the mudslide-battered area picked up and has mostly been completed now. Safe drinking water will be available within five months of being completed, according to China First Railway Group, which organized the project. Zhouqu's main water supplies were cut after the mudslides and emergency water containers had been used to provide safe water for a while after the disaster.