China - Shenzhen landslide

[angelburst29]

Combination of heavy rains and soil waste from construction, dumped next to the industrial site, caused a landslide to bury 22 buildings, with at least 41 missing. A nearby section of China's major West-East natural gas pipeline also exploded.

Shenzhen landslide: Workers flee as buildings collapse around them in eyewitness video
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1893533/shenzhen-landslide-workers-flee-buildings-collapse-around-them

Sunday, 20 December, 2015 Number of casualties still unknown after jets of black mud shoot out of the earth.

A massive landslide has hit a Chinese industrial park on the outskirts of Shenzhen, Guangdong, on Sunday, burying, collapsing and bowling over 22 buildings, according to reports.

Police received the report of the landslide, at Guangming New District’s Liuxi Industrial Park, at 11.40am, Xinhua said.

At least 41 people are missing as a massive rescue attempt launches with 1500 people searching through the rubble, Xinhua reported. Rescuers have brought eight people to safety, one of them suffered minor injuries, according to the state media outlet.

About 900 people had been moved to safety before the landslide buried buildings in a 20,000 square metre area, the Ministry of Public Security’s firefighting bureau said.

Ren Jiguang, deputy chief of Shenzhen’s public security bureau, told the TV station that most people had been moved to safety before the disaster hit, but that they could not be sure no one had been buried in the landslide.

Mud ‘piled up for three years’

The Beijing Youth Daily, citing a local resident, reported that loose soil, waste from construction sites, had been dumped next to the industrial site over the past two years and piled up against a 100-metre-high hill.

The landslide was caused by a spillover of mud at the soil dump, which was operated against regulations an employee at the Guangming New Zone’s safety inspection department said, according to Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

A video taken at the scene showed mud spraying like a fountain from beneath a remaining hill about four storeys high, shooting about twice as high.

“Local residents have complained about the problem for a long time, but it has not been solved,” he said.

Rain in Shenzhen on Sunday made roads at the scene muddy, the city’s Daily Sunshine reported.


27 missing as buildings collapse in southern China landslide
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-buildings-collapse-in-southern-china-landslide-20151220-story.html

At least 27 people remain missing, and rescuers have pulled four people alive from collapsed or buried buildings, China’s state newswire Xinhua reported on Sunday afternoon. About 1,500 rescue workers have been dispatched to the scene.

Pictures posted online show wrecked tangles of low-slung, concrete buildings — both residential complexes and worker dorms — submerged in a tide of red dirt. Others show rescue authorities in orange jumpsuits and white helmets walking over the dirt with shovels. One video shows a tile-clad, three-story building collapsing in a cloud of smoke.


China's Shenzhen hit by landslide, major gas pipeline explodes: state media
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-landslide-idUSKBN0U30CS20151220

A landslide hit the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province on Sunday, burying 22 buildings and leaving 27 people missing, state media reported.

A nearby section of China's major West-East natural gas pipeline also exploded, the official China Central Television (CCTV) broadcaster reported.

 

[Cosmos]

Well I don't know if I can buy into the "spillover of mud at the soil dump, which was operated against regulations" explanation.

It sure looks more like a mud volcano or something like that....

 

[Gary]

It sure looks more like a mud volcano or something like that....

Indeed. Although some disturbance may have initiated the landslide, this is a clear explosion / eruption event also, probably outgassing or venting of some sort. Similar to the Rhode Island beach blast perhaps (http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,39015.msg592374.html#msg592374) - only on a much larger scale. Another sign of Earth 'opening up' I reckon!

Check out the underground explosion / eruption in this video (from the 20 second mark):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSc4HJ8f94Q

 

[angelburst29]

Well I don't know if I can buy into the "spillover of mud at the soil dump, which was operated against regulations" explanation.

It sure looks more like a mud volcano or something like that....

After viewing these additional photo's from Drone footage of the damage, the strong possibility of the event being a mud volcano, becomes more plausible? There's also mention of Tienkuang Mud Volcano_Shenzhen Jingpeng and Mt Carp Mud Volcano_Shenzhen Paradise within the area.

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/12/20/landslide-buries-22-buildings-leaving-more-than-40-people-missing-southern-china/


Also, this landslide (a month ago) in China's Zhejiang Province but the landslide was small and isolated, compared to this recent event.

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2015/11/15/large-landslide-hits-the-village-of-lidong-eastern-china/

Large landslide hits the village of Lidong, eastern China

​A large landslide triggered by heavy rains buried nearly 30 homes in China's Zhejiang Province on the evening of November 13, 2015. On Sunday, November 15, local authorities said the death toll has risen to 21, with 16 people still missing.

 

[Gary]

Almost 60 people are missing after a landslide hit the city of Shenzhen, southern China. The landslide also caused a gas pipeline explosion.

https://www.rt.com/news/326595-china-landslide-shenzhen-disaster/

It sure was a huge landslide, and the suggestion from media outlets is that it caused the explosion that can be seen in the video I posted earlier. Interesting that it was in close proximity to an industrial park too, reminiscent of the massive Tianjin explosion earlier this year. The large landslide at the village of Lidong looks like it was a conventional type of landslide judging by the terrain - I am not sure about this event yet though.

 

[Gary]

This video from China's People's Daily shows multiple eruptions of earth. The latest report on RT indicates an area of about 1 million square meters has been buried in soil. I can't find any info on what exactly triggered the apparent evacuation of most of the buildings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXLskdd-5MQ

Given that volume of material (which caused over 20 buildings to collapse, some in seconds) together with the footage of these mud eruptions, I still think this was a massive outgassing type event from deep below, part of the Earth 'opening up' process.

 

[Mr.Cyan]

Given that volume of material (which caused over 20 buildings to collapse, some in seconds) together with the footage of these mud eruptions, I still think this was a massive outgassing type event from deep below, part of the Earth 'opening up' process.

That's what I thought too, after viewing the shocking videos of the event, the mud eruptions certainly look like high pressure from below the earth being released. Hopefully the Chinese emergency authorities manage to find more survivors.

 

[angelburst29]

Sadly, the Death toll is going up. Whatever happened there - it really is a massive amount of soil.

Landslide buries 91 people
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=014_1450684413

A total of 91 people, including 59 males and 32 females, are still missing after Sunday's landslide buried 33 buildings of an industrial park in Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, according to local authorities.

The landslide struck the Hengtaiyu industrial park in northwestern Shenzhen at around 11:40 on Sunday, leaving more than 100,000 square meters of debris at the site.

An adjacent section of the West-to-East natural gas pipeline exploded after the landslide occurred.

The 33 buried buildings include 14 workshops, two office buildings, one canteen, three dormitory buildings, and other 13 buildings, according to the local authority.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang ordered immediate rescue efforts following the disaster.

Over 900 local residents affected by the disaster are already sheltered in four makeshift sites, in which food, water, and quilts are fully provided.

More than 2,000 people, including firemen, police and health workers, are involved in the rescue operations.

 

[Gary]

This video shows the eruptions from another vantage point and what looks like steam or smoke as well as earth being ejected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_pP4sGPfVk

The scale of the disaster can be seen in this aerial footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKGMveGXKD0

 

[angelburst29]

This video shows the eruptions from another vantage point and what looks like steam or smoke as well as earth being ejected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_pP4sGPfVk

The scale of the disaster can be seen in this aerial footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKGMveGXKD0

News reports continue the "blame-game" on construction crew, dumping mounds of dirt near the hill but that in it's self, wouldn't cause an explosion with debris shooting high into the air?

Anam, you mentioned this, "I can't find any info on what exactly triggered the apparent evacuation of most of the buildings." I find that very interesting and so far, it was only stated once in the first Report. So far, I can not find - no other mention of it?

http://www.mail.com/news/world/4025038-91-missing-landslide-that-buries-buildings-china.html#.7518-stage-hero1-6

Heavy rains in the region had saturated the soil, making it increasingly unstable and ultimately causing it to collapse with massive force. "The pile was too big, the pile was too steep, leading to instability and collapse," the ministry said, adding that the original, natural hill remained intact.

A man who runs a store selling cigarettes and alcohol less than a kilometer (half-mile) from the site said locals had known that the pile of soil was dangerous and feared something bad would happen. "We heard a sound like an explosion and then all we saw was smoke," said the man, who gave only his surname, Dong. "We knew what had happened immediately."

The Ministry of Land and Resources said it had dispatched additional personnel to help monitor the situation and guard against a second collapse. The 33 damaged or collapsed buildings included 14 factories, two office buildings, one cafeteria, three dormitories and 13 sheds or workshops, Shenzhen Deputy Mayor Liu Qingsheng said at a news conference.

(Side note) Quote: Many of the country's major cities suffer from chronic air pollution. A four-day smog red alert continued in Beijing on Monday, forcing schools to close, factories to curtail production and half the city's cars off the roads.

What is the main cause of the heavy chronic air pollution and smog? Low atmospheric pressure over a large portion of China or is it mainly "Industrial contamination?

 

[Gary]

News reports continue the "blame-game" on construction crew, dumping mounds of dirt near the hill but that in it's self, wouldn't cause an explosion with debris shooting high into the air?

Yes, the official narrative seems to be concentrating on the "blame-game", citing China's poor safety record and illegal dumping practices, and attributing the multiple eruptions to an exploding gas pipeline, concluding that this was solely a man-made disaster.

Thus, the nearby quarry was overfilled with construction waste etc to a degree that was unsafe, which then became unstable due to recent heavy rain and this caused the huge landslide, which resulted in a major gas pipeline being ruptured and exploding or a gas station exploding.

The landslide buried 33 buildings including 14 factory buildings, two office buildings, one canteen, three dormitories and 13 low-rise buildings. The mud came like "huge waves" as residents ran out of the way.....

A statement on Weibo, China's micro-blogging site akin to Twitter, from the Shenzhen municipal government said the landslide also triggered an explosion at a nearby gas station. A nearby section of the West-to-East natural gas pipeline exploded after the landslide struck the Hengtaiyu industrial park at around 11:40 am which resulted in amassing of more than 100,000 square metres of debris.

Videos on China's social media showed vast amounts of red mud pouring into the city. The mudslide slowed down as it approached the main area of the estate giving time for many people to escape. A resident living about 4 km away from the site said he heard "a loud explosion" yesterday

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/100-missing-in-china-landslide/173662.html

Perhaps that "loud explosion" (probable outgassing type event) initiated the landslide, as I couldn't hear any such explosion in any videos posted. The subsequent eruptions/explosions do not look like a typical 'gas pipeline explosion' (no flames?) - they look more like 'volcanic-type eruptions' or geyser like phenomena (high pressure from deep below venting through the Earth's surface basically), which suggests to me that this was a major outgassing event. What do other folks think?

Meanwhile relief efforts continue to try to find any survivors. Another tragic event for China this year.

 

[angelburst29]

Another short video - that shows it's a large Industrial Park, with rows of neatly placed high rise buildings. What I found of interest, there's a brief clip of the opposite side of the mountain - that also shows apparent damage? Yet, no Media coverage?

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e2c_1450784085

 

[Gary]

What I found of interest, there's a brief clip of the opposite side of the mountain - that also shows apparent damage? Yet, no Media coverage?

Do you mean around the 30 second mark? I can see smoke or dust on the upper left area, which I think are other isolated buildings that had been caught in the landslide, and probably don't warrant much attention compared to the dozens of other buildings demolished.

Chinese media have released a few satellite photos of the area since 2002. Clearly the quarry has been filled with a lot of material in the last few years particularly. Just a thought, but apart from the sheer volume of dumped material recently, I wonder if or how much may have been of a toxic nature - which is a lot more expensive to dispose of legally - and may have been an 'attractor' of sorts (such as for industrial plumes etc), which acted as a trigger for explosions below the surface resulting in the subsequent landslide?

Satellite images here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZY9pGaKXB0

Meanwhile, two people have been rescued alive after being buried for nearly three days!

 

[Mr.Cyan]

Update on the rescued survivor from South China Morning post (SCMP):

Shenzhen landslide: Man found alive under eight metres of rubble survived by ‘thinking of mother and eating sunflower seeds’
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1894064/shenzhen-landslide-man-found-alive-under-eight-metres-rubble

Migrant worker Tian Zeming survived while buried for 67 hours under eight metres of rubble following Sunday morning’s deadly landslide in Shenzhen by thinking of his mother and eating sunflower seeds and grapefruit.

He remained conscious throughout his ordeal and defiantly kept tapping with a stone to attract the attention of rescue workers.

Tian, 21, told rescuers, after they dug a hole down to just above his head on Wednesday morning, that throughout his ordeal he had kept thinking of his mother and told himself, “I must get out”.

However, it took rescuers another three hours to dig a second hole before he was set free.

He said he had been lucky that food, including sunflower seeds and grapefruit, fell into the hole with him after a huge avalanche of mud and rubble crashed into at least 33 buildings at an industrial park in the city.

 

[Gary]

News reports continue the "blame-game" on construction crew, dumping mounds of dirt near the hill but that in it's self, wouldn't cause an explosion with debris shooting high into the air?

Yes, the official narrative seems to be concentrating on the "blame-game", citing China's poor safety record and illegal dumping practices, and attributing the multiple eruptions to an exploding gas pipeline, concluding that this was solely a man-made disaster.

Thus, the nearby quarry was overfilled with construction waste etc to a degree that was unsafe, which then became unstable due to recent heavy rain and this caused the huge landslide, which resulted in a major gas pipeline being ruptured and exploding or a gas station exploding.

The official line on this tragedy is that it was solely a man-made disaster, (like Tianjin) with no explanation as to the multiple eruptions/explosions witnessed.


China Shenzhen Landslide Caused By Safety Violations, Not Nature, Officials Say

The landslide in southern China that killed two people and left more than 70 people missing on Monday was caused by breaches of construction safety rules and was not a natural disaster, a government website quotes local authorities as saying.

An investigation by a team in Shenzhen directed by the central government in Beijing found the disaster stemmed from waste construction material in a landfill site rather than a natural geological movement, a statement posted late Friday on the Cabinet's website said.

"Those held accountable will be seriously punished in accordance with the law," the statement said.

....

The manmade disaster, which buried 33 buildings in an industrial park, has raised questions about China's industrial safety standards and lack of oversight that has led to fatal accidents, a byproduct of the country's rapid growth.

At the Shenzhen industrial park, there is still some risk of more landslides at three places, and experts have been brought in to deal with the issue, the official Xinhua news agency on Friday quoted a Shenzhen official as saying.

"There are also dangerous chemical items that need to be identified and treated," said Yang Shengjun, head of the Shenzhen Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau.

Yang said no air or water contamination has been detected yet, according to Xinhua.

The company managing the dump site, Shenzhen Yixianglong, was urged to stop work four days before the disaster, an official of a government-appointed monitoring agency said Thursday.

Xinhua earlier reported that the dump was being used 10 months after it was supposed to have stopped taking waste, earning Yixianglong some 7.5 million yuan ($1.16 million) in fees.

http://www.ibtimes.com/china-shenzhen-landslide-caused-safety-violations-not-nature-officials-say-2240071