Ancient dam threatened by China quake

BEIJING, May 14 (UPI) -- Monday's deadly earthquake in southwestern China produced cracks in a 2,000-year-old earthen dam, the Ministry of Water Resources said Wednesday.

The dam, part of the world's oldest operating irrigation system, has V-shaped cracks from the quake and a collapse would threaten the city of Dujiangyan -- which is near the epicenter of the quake that left upwards of 15,000 dead and tens of thousands more injured, buried or missing, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Interfax-China reported the ministry sent a team to repair the dam although the extent of the damage was unclear. A hydropower expert with the Sichuan Bureau of Geology told Interfax the dam's level rose rapidly following the quake due to blockages.

The irrigation system was built in 256 B.C., about 31 miles from Chengdu, the provincial capital of hard-hit Sichuan province. Two other water projects -- the Three Gorges Dam and the south-to-north water diversion project -- reported no damage from the quake, Xinhua reported.