How does the hydroelectric dam collapse in Laos affect Vietnam?
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang, Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, said "there is a lot of inaccurate information in the press about the collapse of the Xe Pien-Xe Namnoy Hydropower Plant in Laos."
Responding to a question about how the collapse of the Xe Pien-Xe Namnoy Hydropower Dam will affect Vietnam, Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang said: "The information that online newspapers are saying about the Xe Pien-Xe Namnoy Hydropower Dam is completely inaccurate."
Mr. Thang said that the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has investigated, as well as the Prime Minister has also discussed with the Lao side, showing: "This is a dam under construction. The design capacity is 1.034 billion m3not 5 billion m3as reported by the newspapers. It is under construction and has started to store water. However, the amount of water stored has not been determined yet so there are no exact parameters" - Mr. Thang said.
 |
| Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang, Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. |
However, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang said that Vietnam's scientific agencies have calculated the water flow from the dam. Accordingly, scientists assessed: "When the water reaches Tan Chau, Chau Doc (An Giang), the water level in this area may rise about 5 cm compared to the present" - Mr. Thang said and scientists are still closely monitoring.
"With a distance of 650 km, according to calculations, it will take about 5-6 days for water from the broken Xe Pien-Xe Namnoy hydropower plant to reach Vietnam," Mr. Thang provided information.
According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang, Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, "This is very preliminary information, because the time is too short to collect and process data information."
Mr. Thang also emphasized: "The total capacity of this hydropower plant is 1.034 billion m3, this is absolutely accurate information. Currently, the water is being stored, not fully stored, because this hydroelectric plant is in the process of both construction and water storage.
"With current water flow data, this hydropower plant has only accumulated about 500 million m3and when it reaches Vietnam, it may only cause an additional 5 cm rise in the Tan Chau and Chau Doc areas. This is a preliminary scenario, but currently, agencies are closely monitoring the developments of this incident to respond promptly," said Deputy Minister Hoang Van Thang.
 |
| The dam failure occurred on the night of July 23 at the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy hydropower project in Attapeu province, southeast of Laos, which is being constructed by PNPC. Photo: Attapeu Today |
Previously, hundreds of people were missing after a hydroelectric dam in the southeastern province of Attapeu, Laos, collapsed on the evening of July 23. The Lao News Agency (KPL) said the dam broke, releasing 5 billion liters of water, causing "many deaths and hundreds of others missing."
The dam is being built by the Xe Pien-Xe Namnoy Power Company, also known as PNPC. Authorities have deployed boats to help evacuate people in Sanamxay district amid rising water levels, ABC Laos reported, without providing further details.
Photos shared online show people wading through muddy water to rescue the elderly and children. Others climbed onto rooftops to escape the water. There is no official figure yet on the number of missing people.
