Xinhua News Agency, Lanzhou, April 10th (Reporter Zhang Wenjing, Li Hua) Cooperated with researchers from Chengdu University of Technology and Lanzhou University, researchers of the National Key Basic Research and Development Program (Program 973)—Occurrence, Evolution Mechanism and Prevention and Control Theory of Loess Major Disasters and Disaster chains—led by Professor Peng Jianbing of Chang'an University have carried out systematic research in loess landslide in Gansu Province and Shaanxi Province since 2014. After five years of joint research, the team has successfully implemented four early warnings of loess landslide.
Research group of Professor Xu Qiang of Chengdu University of Technology and research group of Professor Zhang Qin of Chang'an University established an integrated multi-dimensional observing system in the Heifangtai area of Dangchuan Village, Yanguoxia Town, Yongjing County, Gansu Province, tracking and solving the micro-deformation of various parts of loess tableland and identifying potential landslide before its occurrence.
According to reports, at 17:50 on March 24th of this year, the Beidou monitoring system and intelligent crack gauges installed by team members in the vicinity of landslide group in the Heifangtai area automatically issued a yellow warning for landslide. At 4:34 of March 26th, the monitoring and early warning system issued a red warning. The early warning SMS was automatically posted to local authorities. After receiving the warning information, the local government evacuated the people in the dangerous area.
Peng Jianbing said that this was the forth loess landslide warning successfully issued by the team in the Heifangtai area since 2017, effectively avoiding casualties and property losses, which means that Chinese researchers have broken through the long-standing problem of early warning of loess landslide.
Tian Yongcai, head of Yanguoxia Town, Yongjing County, Gansu Province, told reporters that the landslide warning system proposed and established by the project team issued warning information 40 minutes before the occurrence of landslide, protecting the lives and property of the people.
It is reported that nearly one-third of China's geological disasters occur in the loess area. The frequent loess landslide disasters have seriously affected people's life, production as well as social security and stability in the loess area. It is extremely urgent to prevent such disasters effectively. However, loess landslide is invisible and unexpected due to its complex causes. Therefore, the early warning of loess landslide has always been a difficult and hot topic in the field of geological disaster research.
Peng Jianbing and other experts said that accurate geological hazard warning is based on mechanisms and algorithms. It not only needs monitoring system, but also requires researchers to recognize objects, analyze objects and understand objects. In this case, the data can become an effective forecasting tool.
(Xinhua News Agency, April 10th, 2019)