Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh: Protecting people's lives is paramount

Faced with unusual weather developments caused by the circulation of storm No. 4, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh directed departments, branches and units to focus on response work and protecting people's lives and property. Photo: Dao Tuan.

Faced with unusual weather developments caused by the circulation of storm No. 4, especially in the western districts of Nghe An, on the afternoon of August 17, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh convened a meeting at the Standing Office of the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue of Nghe An.

Co-chairing the meeting was comrade Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Attending the meeting were comrade Tran Van Hung - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Commander of the Provincial Military Command and relevant departments and branches.

According to a quick report from the Standing Office of the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue (PCTT-TKCN), due to the circulation of storm No. 4, the total rainfall from August 16 to 7:00 a.m. on August 17 was generally from 110 - 250 mm. In particular, in the western region of Nghe An, floodwaters from Laos continuously poured in, combined with heavy rains, causing flooding and landslides in many places. Meanwhile, Nghe An currently has over 625 large and small dams. Of which, more than 533 dams managed by the locality are now full of water, 414 of which are full, the remaining dams have reached 70 to 80% of their design capacity; 95 dams managed by irrigation enterprises, as of August 16, 52 were full; 38 dams have a capacity of over 70%. The province has two large lakes, Vuc Mau and Song Sao, which have both discharged water, of which Vuc Mau lake discharged spillway No. 3 with a discharge flow of 93.38 m3.³/s; Sao River reservoir discharges spillway No. 2 with a discharge capacity of 165 m³/S.

Working session scene. Photo: Dao Tuan

Regarding hydroelectric projects, along National Highway 7 from Con Cuong district to Ky Son, there are many hydroelectric projects built on terraced terrain. In particular, Ban Ve hydroelectric lake (Tuong Duong) currently has a water flow of 3,309.0m³/s. At 3:00 p.m. on August 17, the Head of the Provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control issued an order to operate flood discharge with a discharge flow of 1,000 - 2,500m³/S.

Mr. Nguyen Sy Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief of the Standing Office of the Provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, briefly informed about the flood situation. Photo: Dao Tuan

At Khe Bo Hydroelectric Reservoir (Tuong Duong), the flow to the lake is 1,888 m³/s, total discharge: 1,888 m³/s, of which machine flow: 487.0 m³/s and spillway discharge: 1401.0 m³/s. For Chi Khe hydroelectric reservoir (Con Cuong): discharge flow: 2,214.0 m³/s in which flow through the unit: 487.0 m³/s and spillway flow: 1,727.0 m³/s. In Que Phong district, Chau Thang Hydropower Plant: flow to the lake: 568.37 m³/s; discharge flow: 507.55 m³/s, of which flow through the unit: 72.0 m³/s and spillway flow: 435.55 m³/S;

Other small hydropower plants in the province are operating normally according to procedures.

Mr. Hoang Van Tam - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade affirmed that some hydroelectric plants have released flood water but this is not the cause of flooding. Photo: Dao Tuan

Due to heavy rains, floods and landslides, many traffic routes in the area are currently cut off. Notably, there are flooded areas on National Highway 15, some locations on National Highway 48; 48B, 48E and provincial roads such as: Road 531B, 534B, 541.

Currently, the water level of the Ca River upstream continues to rise rapidly, with three villages in My Ly Commune (Ky Son), namely Cha Ngu, Nhot Lot, and Xop Duong, being completely flooded and isolated. Also in Ky Son, four people were swept away by floodwaters. Due to the flood, Quy Chau District has evacuated seven households in Chau Phong Commune.

Colonel Tran Van Hung - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Commander of the Provincial Military Command said that forces and means are ready to support people when needed. Photo: Dao Tuan

In Quynh Luu district, 168 households had their houses flooded. According to the district's report, 408 hectares of rice fields and 320 hectares of crops were flooded; dozens of ponds, lakes, and fish farms were deep under floodwater. In particular, a 350-meter-long sea dike was at risk of breaking; a 7,200-meter-long drainage canal was eroded and damaged; a 1,400-meter-long dyke was eroded...

Comrade Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee spoke at the meeting. Photo: Dao Tuan

After listening to representatives of departments and branches report on the flood situation and prevention solutions, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Dinh Viet Hong said that since the morning of August 17, the Provincial People's Committee has directed localities to be on duty and monitor the flood situation to take timely measures. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also requested departments and branches to continue to assign people to stay in the area to support people in flooded areas, especially to promptly evacuate people in affected areas; focus on closely following and monitoring irrigation and hydroelectric dams to protect and prevent possible situations.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested the immediate evacuation of 34 households located in the Nam Non hydropower reservoir area in Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong); requested the districts to be on duty 24/7 and continuously update the flood situation to the Standing Office of the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control of Nghe An to unify the command focal point.

Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh affirmed that protecting people's lives is the most important issue in current conditions. Photo: Dao Tuan

Affirming that protecting people's lives is paramount, in his speech directing the working session, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh requested agencies, departments, branches and localities to proactively and closely monitor the flood situation to have timely and effective plans. The Provincial Party Secretary also said that one of the equally important things is to pay attention to the lives and activities of people in flooded areas, especially in the condition that water from Laos continues to flow into the Western region, causing unpredictable risks. Believing that the Standing Office of the Provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control plays an important role in updating information and unusual developments of floods, comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh requested that the Office should have close connections with local leaders to avoid being passive and lacking a firm grasp of the situation.

The Provincial Party Secretary asked the units to review the flooded areas and those at risk to have timely response plans. "If the rain continues, water from Laos continues to flow into the mountainous areas of our province, what will the situation be like?" - the Provincial Party Secretary asked and directed the relevant units to take advantage of the time, approach the flooded and high-risk areas to support the people.

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh requested the Standing Office of the Provincial Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control to closely connect with localities to grasp the flood situation. Photo: Dao Tuan

Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Nguyen Dac Vinh also requested relevant units to specifically inspect and determine the cause of death for 4 people in Ky Son district as soon as the flood occurred. Thereby, to inform, propagate and warn people in other localities to learn from experience and prevent. "All overflow points and areas at risk of flooding must have warnings and drastic measures" - the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee emphasized.

The largest hydroelectric reservoir in the North Central region is operating, reducing downstream flooding.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of August 17, the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Nghe An province issued an order to operate the Ban Ve hydropower reservoir to reduce flooding downstream.

The head of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee directed the Department of Transport to grasp the traffic situation on all routes, and coordinate with localities to immediately fix any landslides that can be fixed; the Department of Industry and Trade closely monitors the operation of hydropower projects to avoid possible damage. Paying more attention to this issue, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh said that although the flood discharge of hydropower reservoirs is usually announced 4 hours in advance, but with the characteristics of the Western region, people go to work on the fields far from their homes, the area has no phone signal so contact will be difficult, so relevant units need to forecast and notify early so that people know, avoiding unfortunate damage.

The Provincial Party Secretary requested the armed forces, especially the Provincial Military Command, to prepare forces and means to be ready for rescue when bad situations occur. The police and border guards also need to proactively participate in supporting to protect people's lives and property.

Four people have died and gone missing due to floods in Nghe An.

(Baonghean.vn) - In the border district of Ky Son (Nghe An), floods swept away 4 people, including 2 mothers and children whose bodies were found and identified, 1 other body has not been identified and 1 student is missing.