The Zipingpu dam, located about three miles form the epicenter of the quake, holds 315 million tonnes of water. Some geologists believed that the weight of the water, and its ability to penetrate rock, could have changed the pressure on the fault line.

The reason scientists want to look into it further is because an earthquake of that magnitude is incredibly unusual for the area. In fact, according to Christian Klose of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, there had been no "major seismic activity" on the fault line for millions of years.

Fan Xiao, the chief engineer of the Sichuan Geology and Mineral Bureau, said that there have been many cases in which water reservoirs have triggered plate shifts. The government had been warned about the danger of building so many massive projects so close to a fault line but had not heeded them, Fan said.

By shifting a huge quantity of water into the region very suddenly, the dams could have relaxed the tension between two sides of the fault and allowed them to move apart. The effect would have been “25 times more” than a year's worth of natural tectonic stress.

Further research is needed, the scientists admitted, but the government has been quick to deny that their massive construction projects have had any effect on the disaster. Researchers have been cut off from obtaining any more seismological and geological data.

The Hoover Dam is one of the most famous examples of water reservoirs allegedly causing earthquakes. The area around Lake Mead experienced several shakes (though nothing above a magnitude of 5) as the dam was filled. [Telegraph]

Sure, they may not look very homey to us, but they're an ingenious way to deal with the terrible problem of the thousands left homeless by the earthquake, while making sure older subway models don't end up in a landfill somewhere. Altogether, the trains will accommodate roughly 1,200 people. [China News]

The guy in the video keeps asking whether it's an earthquake, in case you were wondering.

Deputy Dog dug up this clip, which I then found via DVICE. It reminded me of my own visit to the Taipei 101 last year (see my photos in the gallery above). The ginormous ball, of which the Burj Dubai has nine, was installed on in-place from 41 discrete steel plates because the combined weight of 730 tons would have been too heavy to lift by crane. The people even came up with a nickname for it: the Damper Baby. Don't look at me. The best I could come up with is some combination of "stabilizer" and "testicle".

The architects were forced to install it because of high winds and the fact that the Taipei 101 is only 600 feet from a fault line. In order to get up to the observation floor where you can see the top of the ball, you have to ride in the world's fastest elevator. I actually might have my own video of my ride up somewhere, but it's possible that it was deleted shortly after the world's fastest elevator ride turned into the world's stinkiest elevator ride. I had a lot of good food.

One of the commenters on Deputy Dog wondered why there haven't been reports of people climbing over the barrier and trying to sit on it or swing it manually. To which another commenter responded, "perhaps it just says that the Chinese are able to restrain themselves from such boneheaded acts, while too many Brits just go crazy and can’t act with appropriate restraint." No, I don't think it's that, although Brits are pretty nutty. I think it's because nobody wants to be crushed to death by a 730 ton ball. [Deputy Dog via DVice]

[Flickr Credit for lead photo]

China now boasts the world's largest mobile phone and Internet user base—about 574 million have cellphones and 221 million are regularly logged online. Chinese witnesses to the Sichuan quake's wreckage are flooding websites with videos, first-hand accounts and—most impressively—criticism of government-sponsored rescue attempts. Even the state-controlled media has gained the freedom to show distressing images without having to go through the usual censorship bodies.

Though there is little hope that the Chinese government will stay as hands-off as it has been the last week, its behavior is a far cry from the last time China encountered such a devastating natural disaster. In 1976, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Tangshan province. Chinese censors clamped down immediately and the actual death toll from the event (anywhere between 240,000 to 779,000) is still up in the air. [AP]

(photo from Agence France-Presse — Getty Images)