The day the earth shook in China – and an engineer took life-saving action
- Luo Yong was at a hydropower station with colleagues when a magnitude 6.8 quake struck Sichuan province
- He immediately sought to cut the risk from rising dam waters to villagers below, state media report
Sichuan Daily reported on Friday that at great risk to his personal safety, hydropower station engineer Luo Yong, 41, opened the floodgates of a dam in Luding county, Sichuan province, on September 5, to prevent it from overflowing onto villagers below.
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Deadly series of earthquakes rock China’s southwestern province of Sichuan
When the tremors struck, Luo was with his colleagues in the staff dormitory of the Wandong hydropower station, a facility that regulates irrigation in the area, according to the report.
As the workers fled the dormitory, two were engulfed in a rockflow and killed, it said.
Luo, controller of the plant’s floodgates, sought refuge near the station’s buildings and said he noticed water levels in the dam rising.
According to the report, the dam overlooked several villages, home to hundreds of people who would be at risk if the dam was breached.
Luo said he decided to open the floodgates to release the rising water but the controls for the gates were in a tower 50 metres (165 feet) away and up 10 floors.