Thousands Part Of Rescue Effort After Shenzhen Landslide
The consequences of rapid industrialization top the international news in Hindi as Dainik Bhaskar reports that thousands gave aid in the cleanup after a massive landslide in Shenzen, which is located in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.
The landslide occurred on Sunday, December 20, and was caused by the destabilization of a mountain of construction waste located in an expanding industrial location. The location is made up of dozens of buildings including factories, offices and worker dormitories. Shenzen is the city that joins Hong Kong to the rest of mainland China.
85 People are Still Missing
According to media reports, 85 people are still missing in the wake of the disaster, and are likely dead. Surprisingly, not very many people were injured, with reports claiming only 16 people remain hospitalized; only three of them in serious condition.
Company Managing Waste Raised Concerns About Pile In Early 2015
The company managing the construction waste pile grew concerned about the amount of waste and debris as far back as January 2015, and filed a report with the Guangdong government.
The report read, “With the fast economic development of Guangming New District, acceleration of urbanization, and increase of municipal and property development projects, large amount of soil waste is destined to be produced. About one million square meters of soil waste is left every year in Guangming New District and there’s need to find it’s way-out. Therefore it is needed urgently to build new waste dumps.” Moreover, the region has been experiencing heavy rainfall, which was causing coastal erosion that likely dislodged the soil that contributed to the landslide.
Locals living in the area corroborated the report, saying that government officials have been ignoring the growing piles, allowing them to get so large that they became dangerously unstable. One resident reminded the media that this isn’t the first time disaster has struck because of unsafe construction practices. There were a series of explosions last summer in warehouses in nearby Tainjin, which killed approximately 50 people.
It is estimated that the landslide is currently affecting an area of about 380,000 square metres, which is roughly the size of about 60 football fields. Mud and soil are said to be about ten metres thick, which is seriously hampering rescue efforts.
Shenzen Grew From Small Village to Major Industrial Center
About 40 years ago, Shenzen was considered a small village by today’s standards. China’s leaders during that era chose it to become a modern industrial zone, and it has since grown into a modern city, complete with high-rise buildings and major commercial districts. The city is also a major financial and technology centre with its own stock exchange and a large concentration of technology companies.
Shenzen’s current population tops ten million in the city, with another eight million residents in its metropolitan area. It is also the site of major foreign investment with countries investing more than $30 billion USD in recent years. Shenzen has one of the biggest shipping ports in the world, currently ranked third after Shanghai and Singapore.
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