Nghe An: Buffaloes die due to floodwaters flowing into hydroelectric plant under construction

At 6:00 a.m. on July 9, Mr. Nhang Van Man, Kim Da village, Pha Danh commune, Ky Son district, went to his farm in Ta Ca village, Nam Can commune, Ky Son and discovered that 2 female buffaloes out of 3 that his family had just bought last week were dead, their bellies swollen due to being flooded overnight.

Two buffaloes were found dead while tied to trees. Photo: Lu Phu

Also according to Mr. Man, on the evening of July 8, before leaving, he tied these two buffaloes to two tree roots near the camp, and tied the other buffalo to a stake buried in the ground before going home.

He recently bought these two buffaloes with a loan of 70 million VND from the district's Social Policy Bank, determined to escape poverty through animal husbandry. His family's remaining buffalo escaped death because when the water rose and flooded the land, the stakes were removed from the ground, so the buffaloes were able to run to higher ground.

According to Mr. Lo Van Pha - Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Pha Danh commune, the reason why Mr. Man's two buffaloes died was because the Ca Loi hydroelectric project located in Pieng Pho village, Pha Danh commune (about 300 meters from Mr. Man's farm) was under construction. On the evening of July 8, floodwaters from the upstream poured in, dragging along forest trees and rocks, blocking the flow, causing the water in the reservoir to rise 3 meters. Mr. Man tied the buffaloes tightly, so when the water rose, the buffaloes could not escape and died.

After the incident, representatives of the hydropower company and local authorities were present at the scene to investigate the incident. The company supported Mr. Man’s family with 21 million VND.