Beijing, China - Aug 11, 2017
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1. Press conference
2. Reporters
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Houqun, academician, Chinese Academy of Engineering:
"The straight-line distance between Jiuzhaigou and the Three Gorges Dam is about 700 kilometers, and there are some impervious stratum in between, so the store water in the Three Gorges Reservoir has no connection with the fault zone of Jiuzhaigou in hydraulic power. Without connection in the geologic structure or hydraulic power, I don't think the store water in the Three Gorges Reservoir can cause the Jiuzhaigou earthquake."
4. Reporters
5. Materials in reporter's hand
6. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Jie, deputy director, China Earthquake Networks Center:
"China is struck by 20 earthquakes measuring 5.0 magnitude, three to four earthquakes measuring 6.0 magnitude and 0.67 earthquakes measuring 7.0 magnitude on average each year. It had been 24 months since the last 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck China and eight months since the last 6.0-magnitude earthquake happened at the end of last year before the Jiuzhaigou earthquake."
7. Press conference in progress

Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Aug 11, 2017
8. Various of rubbles around house after earthquake

An expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) on Friday refuted some online speculation that the Three Gorges Dam could have some impact on the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit Jiuzhaigou County in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday.

The epicenter of the quake was located near three fault zones of Minjiang, Tazang and Huya, where frequent seismic activities make the area earthquake-prone, Chen Houqun, an academician with the CAE, told a press conference in Chinese capital Beijing.

Chen attributed the Jiuzhaigou quake to the Indochina block's northward movement.

The Three Gorges Dam and its major reservoirs were built along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, which are not in the same tectonic unit that caused the Jiuzhaigou earthquake, Chen said.

The dam has no connection with the fault zones that caused the quake in terms of geologic structure, he added.

"The straight-line distance between Jiuzhaigou and the Three Gorges Dam is about 700 kilometers, and there are some impervious stratum in between, so the store water in the Three Gorges Reservoir has no connection with the fault zone of Jiuzhaigou in hydraulic power. Without connection in the geologic structure or hydraulic power, I don't think the store water in the Three Gorges Reservoir can cause the Jiuzhaigou earthquake," said Chen.

At the press conference, an expert from the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) also clarified matters concerning the frequency of China's earthquakes, saying China is not in a seismically active period currently.

"China is struck by 20 earthquakes measuring 5.0 magnitude, three to four earthquakes measuring 6.0 magnitude and 0.67 earthquakes measuring 7.0 magnitude on average each year. It had been 24 months since the last 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck China and eight months since the last 6.0-magnitude earthquake happened at the end of last year before the Jiuzhaigou earthquake," said Liu Jie, deputy director of the CENC.

Two strong earthquakes hit China on Tuesday and Wednesday, with one measuring 7.0 magnitude in Jiuzhaigou of Sichuan Province, and the other measuring 6.6 magnitude in Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The Jiuzhaigou earthquake was fatal, leaving at least 24 people dead and 493 others injured.

The two earthquakes were the supplement to the earlier low-frequency of earthquakes in China, said Chen, adding that China is in the normal state of seismic activities.