The Tent City of Mina Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo hopes its experiences in preventing landslides could be shared in China where mudslides in Gansu Province on Sunday left nearly 337 people dead, reported Xinhua news agency Monday. The pavilion presents its landslide-prevention solutions in the expo park's Urban Best Practices Area. “We offer a proven solution to protect high-risk, densely populated cities from landslides. Hopefully, it can be spread through the Shanghai Expo and make more cities safer,” said Long Chang, senior program manager with the Mina pavilion. The landslide-prevention solutions from Mina consists of four parts: u Nail down large unstable rocks onto mountains with steel bars; u Build stone walls mid-hill to contain smaller falling rocks; u Build dams from 50 to 70 meters high to contain mud-rock flows; u Construct conduits that lead rushing water to a massive holding tank. Mina, 5 kilometers to the east of Makkah, provides temporary accommodations for three million people on 2.9 square km during the annual Haj pilgrimage. The stretch of land is covered with white tents. Lying in the steep and rocky Mina Valley, the tent city had been constantly threatened by falling rocks and landslides. In addition, the valley's rain season often coincides with the pilgrimage. “The valley is usually dry. But it pours during the pilgrimage when the population is the densest, causing landslides and, for decades, prompted city builders to strive for greater safety,” Long said. The death toll from the disaster in Gansu province crept up to 337 in an official estimate released by state media Monday -- a count likely to mount -- making it the worst single such incident in a year of grim floods. Nearly 1,500 people have already died in landslides and flooding caused by months of torrential rains across the country, the Chinese ministry of Civil Affairs said. The mass of mud and rocks buried at least 300 low-rise homes, state media reported, while images showed multi-story concrete buildings toppled or with chunks gouged out.
