The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue has urged the authorities in Vietnam to inspect 285 hydropower plants to ensure that Vietnam avoids disasters such as the recent dam breach in Laos.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development cum head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue Nguyen Xuan Cuong

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development cum head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue Nguyen Xuan Cuong held an urgent meeting on July 25 to discuss the inspection work. Tran Quang Hai, a member of the committee, said natural disasters had caused 110 deaths, 82 missing cases and nearly VND3.6trn (USD144m) in damage since early this year.

Head of the National Centre for Hydro-meteorology Forecasting Hoang Duc Cuong said since July 25, heavy rains had occurred in the northern mountainous areas. From July 28 to 31, it will spread to the northern delta area and north central coast. Flashflood and landslides are likely to occur in the mountainous areas.

According to the Directorate of Water Resources, the northern region has nearly 3,000 reservoirs, 2,700 of which are small. About 140 reservoirs are located in key locations in Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang and Thai Nguyen and may pose a huge problem when there are heavy rains. There are 1,030 small and 46 large reservoirs in the north-central coastal region, of which 100 reservoirs are in key locations. Tinh warned against discharges without warnings.

"Local authorities should try to lower the water levels in case of heavy rains and floods," Nguyen Van Tinh, head of the Directorate of Water Resources said. 

Forests in Vietnam have been badly damaged, and over 1,000 reservoirs are deteriorating and many embankments are compromised. Vietnam needs to find measures to deal with these issues in the near future and the Directorate of Water Resources was asked to check and stop storing water in unsafe reservoirs.

Nguyen Van Hai from the Natural Disaster Preparedness Department said even though the Lao dam collapse disaster did not have a significant impact on Vietnam, it was still a severe lesson.

Meanwhile, EVN said all 39 power plants under its management were inspected and confirmed safe. The EVN representative said, "We submit prevention plans to the Ministry of Industry and Trade every year."

The management boards of hydropower plants also submit detailed prevention plans to local authorities, stating when and how much they will discharge water as well as when downriver areas will be flooded. 

"We provide camera feeds to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue," said the EVN representative.

Nguoilaodong/DTinews