New analysis brings call for slope reinforcement for massive mega-dam project in Tibet to mitigate risks of landslides and collapses
2-MIN READ2-MINHolly ChikPublished: 12:00pm, 9 Jul 2026Chinese geologists have determined that an active fault line directly beneath the world’s largest hydropower project poses a threat to the mega dam now being built on Tibet’s Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River.The scientists said a fracture in the Earth’s crust in the eastern Himalayan region would significantly affect the integrity of the massive hydropower project’s infrastructure.
In a paper published last month in the Chinese-language journal Sedimentary Geology and Tethyan Geology, supervised by the state-owned China Geological Survey, the team urged engineers to strengthen slope stability and implement retaining protections to mitigate the risk of landslides and collapses.
The study was conducted by geologists from the Chengdu University of Technology, the Civil-Military Integration Centre of the China Geological Survey, and the Middle Yarlung Zangbo River Natural Resources Observation and Research Station.
01:00Hundreds evacuated as heavy rains cause dam to collapse in Guangxi region“The Paizhen Fault, which has been highly active since the Pleistocene [also known as the Ice Age], will have a major impact on the structural stability and construction of nearby structures, including dams, roads, bridges and tunnels, as well as the reservoir area,” the researchers wrote.
