Hydroelectric plant releases floodwaters, submerging houses, district chairman indignant

Ho Ho Hydropower Plant released floodwaters, causing many communes in Huong Khe (Ha Tinh) to be submerged in water. The district chairman was indignant, while the hydropower plant director insisted that the discharge was in accordance with procedures.

At around 5:45 p.m. on October 14, Ho Ho hydroelectric plant (bordering Quang Binh and Ha Tinh) suddenly released massive floodwaters, causing thousands of households in Huong Khe district to be deeply submerged in water.

Ho Ho Hydropower Plant releases floodwaters, causing flooding in 9 communes in Huong Khe district. Photo: Thien Luong

The massive flood discharge with a flow rate of 1,800 m3/s in 4 hours combined with heavy rain caused the water level to rise very quickly. Many people were unable to react in time.

The whole district is completely passive.

According to Chairman of Huong Khe District People's Committee Le Ngoc Huan, the flood discharge of Ho Ho Hydropower Plant must be notified to local authorities and people for proactive action.

In the flood prevention plan for the downstream area of ​​Ho Ho hydropower plant issued in 2014, it is stipulated that the plant must be responsible for notifying flood discharge/dam incidents, expected flooded areas and expected time to end flood discharge/dam restoration.

“Before discharging, the factory will notify in writing 2 days in advance to the People's Committee of Ha Tinh province, the Provincial Flood and Storm Prevention - Search and Rescue Command Committee, the People's Committee of Huong Khe district, and the People's Committees of related communes.

If there is an unusual or urgent situation during the flood discharge process, the factory's leadership representative will directly notify the head and deputy head of the flood and storm prevention command at all levels by phone to request a handling plan," said Mr. Huan.

However, according to Mr. Huan, the District People's Committee did not receive any written notice from the factory about flood discharge, flow rate, or warning time.

“The factory representative only informed a district vice chairman by phone at 4 p.m. yesterday. The whole district was completely passive about this,” Mr. Huan said.

According to Mr. Huan, at 4:00 p.m. on June 14, the water level at Ho Ho was 68m, the water flow was 1,700 m3/s, the factory opened 3 discharge gates with a flow of 1,500 m3/s.

At 5:39 p.m., the water level had dropped to 67.3 m, the water inflow was 1,400 m3/s, but the discharge increased to 1,700 m3/s. At 7 p.m., the leaders of Huong Khe district directly inspected and the discharge was now 1,843 m3/s, even though the water level was 67 m.

Photo by Thien Luong.

“When it hasn’t rained yet, we didn’t release the water, but waited until it rained heavily to release it. The water from above poured in, the river water rose, I suggested stopping for 1-2 hours to let the water recede, under the conditions at that time we could stop releasing the water for 1 hour, but the plant’s leaders did not agree,” said Mr. Huan. After checking the flood release notification procedures, Chairman of the District People’s Committee Le Ngoc Huan expressed his frustration with the leaders of the Ho Ho Hydropower Plant for the sudden release of water that caused flooding in many communes.

No time to react

In Huong Khe, there are 8 communes directly affected when Ho Ho Hydropower Plant releases floodwaters. Like the District People's Committee, many communes did not receive written notice about the hydropower plant releasing floodwaters to proactively warn the people.

Chairman of Ha Tinh Provincial People's Committee Dang Quoc Khanh: Dam discharge needs to be informed promptly to the people, otherwise if the discharge is so massive, the people will not have time to react.

Mr. Tran Dinh Lam, Secretary of Loc Yen Commune, said that there was no written notice before the discharge. At around 5:00 p.m., the hydropower plant called the commune People's Committee, and the commune leaders only had time to notify the secretary and the hamlet chief. But at this time, it was already dark, the water started pouring in quickly, and the electricity was out, so people in many hamlets could not know that the hydropower plant was releasing floodwater.

“The flood came so quickly that people had no time to react. Fortunately, there were no casualties in the commune, but the loss of property was enormous,” said Mr. Lam.

Mr. Phan Dinh Hung, Chairman of Huong Giang Commune (Huong Khe, Ha Tinh) said: “The water came in suddenly due to the release of Ho Ho Dam. Although the commune continuously informed people to evacuate, the water rose too quickly, and at night, so people could not cope.

Photo: Duy Tuan

“The water has receded to about 2 meters now. On the evening of October 14, 700 out of 1,400 households in the commune were flooded, about 300 households were flooded from 1.5 meters or more. The damage to livestock has not been quantified, but several thousand poultry were swept away by the flood, and about 60 tons of food were submerged,” said Mr. Hung.

Hydropower director: 'Discharge according to procedure'

Mr. Vu Manh Hung, Director of Ho Ho Hydropower Plant (Ho Bon Hydropower Joint Stock Company) said that the flood discharge at Huong Khe was in accordance with the procedure.

“The chairman of Huong Khe district responded to the press saying that the flood discharge was so fast that it made me very upset. If it was not discharged, it would fill up and overflow,” said Mr. Hung.

According to Mr. Hung, the company requested an order to discharge and regulate from 8:00 p.m. on September 13. From 0:00 to 14:00 on October 14, the factory always regulated the discharged water to a state where the water was less than the water coming in.

By 6:45 p.m., the water flow into the lake was 1,800 m3/s, at times nearly 2,000 m3/s. At that time, the water in the lake had risen higher, the water flowed quickly so the factory could not hold any more, afraid of being flooded, so it was forced to release.

"We have notified the flood prevention committee at all levels as per the flood prevention plan of the hydroelectric plant approved by the province, we are not responsible for notifying the chairman of the district People's Committee," said Mr. Hung.

According to Vietnamnet