VietNamNet Bridge - The water discharge which caused heavy floods in lower Phu Yen province days ago reflected poor management over the operation of hydropower plants on Ba River, experts have said. 

Three communes of Dong Xuan district - Phu Mo, Xuan Quang 1 and Xuan Son Bac – suffered heavily from the flood. Cao Thi Thu, a local resident, said the flood attacked so quickly that she could not collect things before evacuation and take cows away.

“Rice got wet, cows died. After the flood went down, we had to seek support from neighbors,” she said.

Thu confirmed that local authorities warned local residents about the water discharge, but as it rained so heavily and the electricity was cut, she could not hear further information about the flood. 

According to Tran Huu The, deputy chair of Phu Yen province, the hydropower plant staff in Ba River valley have drawn up flood maps, but district leaders need more information than the public.

“By considering flood maps, local authorities will know what hamlets and villages will get flooded first and they need to evacuate local people to safe places,” he said.

Chair of Dong Hoa district Vo Ngoc Hoa said that Song Ba Ha Hydropower Plant called him before it discharged water. However, only the district’s leaders knew about the water discharge, so the deployment of activities to respond to emergencies was still late.

The water discharge which caused heavy floods in lower Phu Yen province days ago reflected poor management over the operation of hydropower plants on Ba River

Chair of Dong Xuan district Dang Ngoc Anh said the volume of water was unpredictable. 

Meanwhile, chair of Phu Yen province Hoang Van Tra, said the provincial authorities only knew about the water volume if water was discharged by hydropower plants in the locality. If the plants in other provinces, such as An Khe – Ka Nak, discharge water, they aren't informed.

According to Dinh Xuan Duyen, head of Krong Pa district district in Gia Lai province, the latest flood caused damage worth VND36.5 billion.

“We need to know where the floodwater would reach to after two hours, or four hours, if the discharge capacity is 500 cubic meters or 1,000 cubic meters per second, so that we can take initiative in responding to the flood. However, Krong Pa district doesn’t have flood maps,” Duyen said.

“Knong H’Nang hydropower plant in Dak Lak province has such a map, but An Khe – Ka Nak plant doesn’t,” he said, adding that the information about floods and the flood maps need to be made public.

Mai Chi