Advantages of gabion mesh in emergency situations

Gabion mesh is quick to install, easy to use, and requires no technical skills, making it particularly suitable for emergency situations. Water conservancy departments maintain annual reserves of gabion mesh.
For example: Collapse emergency response. When a reservoir dam collapses, throw boulders, sandbags, or gabions (made of wire or bamboo) along the collapsed section, starting with the most severely collapsed area at the top and proceeding sequentially until a stable slope is achieved.
Leakage emergency response. When seepage holes appear on the back slope or near the toe of the dam, traversing the dam body or foundation, locate the leak inlet. If the opening is small, quickly fill it with cotton wool, straw bags, or woven bags, or use straw bundles to form soft wedges for sealing. If the opening is large or there are many holes, place a large iron pot upside down or right-side up over the opening to cut off the water flow. Cover with tarpaulin or netting, then cover with sandbags and fill with clay to seal tightly.
Leakage emergency response. When dam seepage occurs, the method of "intercepting seepage on the water-facing slope and guiding seepage on the back slope" is adopted. On the water-facing slope, a front slope is constructed using low-permeability cohesive soil, or tarpaulins or geomembranes can be used for seepage control to reduce water infiltration. On the back slope, a filter is applied using more permeable sand, gravel, geotextiles, or straw to prevent soil loss, thereby lowering the phreatic line and maintaining dam stability. It is crucial to avoid using clay to suppress seepage on the back slope, as this will raise the phreatic line, leading to an expansion of the seepage area and exacerbating the potential danger.