The Chinese government has appealed to the public for information as part of its investigation into a reservoir dam that collapsed in southern China earlier this month, causing heavy casualties.
State media reported on Monday that the public could call a hotline to submit information related to the collapse of the Liulan Reservoir in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on July 6.
People also have until August 15 to post submissions to an investigation and assessment work group from the State Council, China’s cabinet, according to a report in Guangxi Daily.
The investigation aimed to “fully reconstruct the sequence of events, determine the causes of the disaster, examine shortcomings and responsibilities in disaster prevention, emergency response and rescue efforts, and draw lessons to help prevent similar incidents”, the team said.
Similar public appeals have been made during previous State Council investigations into disasters and industrial accidents that have caused heavy casualties and sparked widespread public concern.
Precedents include the 2021 floods in Zhengzhou, provincial capital of Henan in central China, which killed more than 300 people, and – more recently – the gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province in May, the country’s most severe mining accident in more than a decade, which left 82 of its workers dead.
The Liulan Reservoir disaster in Guangxi followed a record-breaking downpour from Typhoon Maysak that caused the earth-fill dam – completed in 1960 without a reinforced concrete core – to fail when it overtopped.
Severe erosion opened a massive breach, unleashing a devastating floodwater downstream that forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate.
By the morning of July 9, 26 people were dead and seven missing. Meanwhile, dam breaches and flooding at other reservoirs in the area had caused an additional 13 deaths and left two other people unaccounted for, according to official statistics.
Since then, there have been no official updates to the casualty toll, prompting rumours to spread online of much higher death numbers – claims that have been repeatedly denied by local authorities.
At least one resident has been punished by police for allegedly “spreading false information”.
There have also been discussions online about possible reasons for the dam collapse and speculation over the short notice given to residents living in the area to evacuate.
The State Council investigation team was sent to Nanning, Guangxi’s capital, and held its first meeting on July 24.
When the investigation into the deadly Zhengzhou floods concluded, it found that local authorities had covered up 139 disaster-related deaths and missing person cases at various stages of the emergency response.
The investigators also determined that some flood-related incidents were attributable to official negligence and a failure to perform duties. Dozens of officials, including the Communist Party chief and mayor of Zhengzhou, were held accountable and subjected to disciplinary and legal actions. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
