CNN is reporting that 2,000 Chinese troops are rushing to plug “extremely dangerous” cracks in the Zipingku Dam, which stands about three miles upriver from the earthquake-ravaged Dujiangyan City. The endangered population of Dujiangyan City stands at about 630,000. If there’s a serious dam accident, the resulting devastation could immediately rival that of neighboring Burma, where the official death toll stands at about 40,000 from a typhoon that hit two weeks ago.

China’s dams present deadly problems of huge literal and figurative size. In 1975, Typhoon Nina hit China and the Banqiao Dam collapsed, destroying 60 more dams and killing almost 200,000 people. China’s own Water Resource Department claims that 30,000 dams in China are in “critical condition.” China keeps building newer and larger dams, while maintenance of the country’s older ones get neglected. Additionally, the rampant corruption of local governments enables huge sums allocated for dam maintenance to end up in the pockets of officials. Unchecked growth, without consideration for scale or infrastructural soundness, leaves the citizens of China unprotected in the event of unforeseeable circumstances. Let’s hope they plug this dam. But going forward, the Chinese government can’t hope to spot-fill cracks as a way of warding off catastrophe.