VietNamNet Bridge – The central region has suffered from 11 typhoons and floods so far this year. It has also incurred the human-made floods when hydropower plants discharge water. Tens of thousands of families lead a destitute life.
Nari, the 11th typhoon unroofed tens of thousands of houses, broke the electricity transmission lines, fell electricity polls and trees and damaged everything in the areas it came to.
The central region of Vietnam has suffered too many calamities so far this year, not only the “act of the God,” but also the calamities caused by humans themselves.
The Ho Ho hydropower plant discharged water at 1,500 cubic meters per second. The Huong Son plant and Ke Go reservoir also discharged water at 100 cubic meters per second. As a result, the mountainous districts of Huong Khe, Huong Son and Vu Quang got inundated deeply under the water.
In Tuyen Hoa district of Quang Binh province, the water discharged from Ho Ho hydropower plant has swept away all the crops grown on hundreds of hectares of land.
Chair of the Tuyen Hoa district Hoang Minh De said the district authorities requested the power plant many times to compensate for damages. However, the investor has not paid any dong to farmers.
Since the early days of October, local people on the Vu Gia – Thu Bon river valley have been living in the fear for the floods from hydropower plants.
On October 2, the Dak Mi 4 power plant’s board of management informed that it discharged water at 1,000-1,800 cubic meters per second. However, in fact, the water output was much higher, at 2,744 cubic meters.
As a result, the people on the lower course of the Vu Gia River got panicked on the day when seeing the abnormal rise of the river water , trying to run away. They thought the hydropower plant dam got broken.
Just two weeks later, on October 16, the local people once again hurried to run away to escape the floods – the natural and the power plant’s floods.
On October 15, when Nari typhoon ended, it rained slightly in Dai Loc district. However, the river water rose rapidly and floods rushed down. It was because a series of hydropower plants, including Dak Mi 4, Song Bung 5, Song Bung 4 and A Vuong, discharged water at the same time.
Nguyen Khac Xuyen, Dai Hung commune’s Party Committee Secretary, said local people have got exhausted and moneyless after suffering the two “big floods from the God and from hydropower plants.”
Xuyen complained that in general, power plants only informed about the water discharging one hour in advance, which is not long enough for people to bring their assets, buffaloes and production tools with themselves when running away.
Local people in the central region are not only afraid of floods, but earthquakes as well.
The most dangerous earthquake, measuring at 4.6 richter scale, which took place on October 22, 2012 at the Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant in Bac Tra My district of Quang Nam province, shook the whole region. What will happen if a 6.2 richter earthquake happens?
Thien Nhien