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The dam is situated near 6 active fault lines, with 700 million tons of sediment building up behind it annually, with a drainage basin prone to heavy rains and flooding, and it is only built to withstand up to 7.0 scale earthquakes in a region that regularly frequents 6.0-6.5 scale earthquakes. Despite the dam's large margins of safety it is still a risk to roughly 1/3 of the Chinese people downstream.

Mechanically would the entire dam break, or just enough to release the pressure?
Could it be repaired easily? Would it?
How would this affect Chinese culture, politics, economics and ecology?
How would this affect global politics, economics and ecology?
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