Between Sunday night and Monday morning, five tremors occurred in Bac Tra My District in the central province of Quang Nam, sending shock waves among the local people who dared not sleep all through the night.  

The tremors have followed a 4.7 magnitude quake on November 15, the strongest ever to have shaken the Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant area.  

Duong Thi Huong, a local resident of Tra Son Commune in Bac Tra My District, said that she was frightened to even sleep after the last major quake on November 15.

Although her house is strong, made of concrete and steel, the quake on November 15 left huge cracks in her walls. Ever since, her family has moved to a nearby wooden shack.

About 40,000 households in Bac Tra My, Hiep Duc, Nong Son and Que Son Districts and tens of thousands of households in the lower reaches of Thu Bon River are living in constant fear of impending earthquakes, particularly those of strong intensity.

Tran Anh Tuan, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee in Bac Tra My District, has asked Vietnam Electricity--investor of the Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant--to coordinate with district authorities to assist residents in quake hit areas. People in these areas are feeling most unsettled and have as yet not regularized their daily lives and businesses.

EVN urged aid Quang Nam households deal with earthquake consequences

The People’s Committee of Quang Nam Province asked EVN allocate VND2.5 billion (USD119,000) to help Bac Tra My District to deal with consequences of recent earthquakes.

By November 6th, 856 houses and eight public works in the district had been damaged or seriously affected by consecutive earthquakes; the figure does not include the fallout of the 4.7 earthquake on November 15.

The provincial People’s Committee also recommended that EVN support Bac Tra My District with VND505 million (USD24,000) for a water supply system and the building of 10 wells for residential use. The firm was also asked to give financial assistance of VND692.7 million  (USD32,950) for the repairing of roads in the district.

At a meeting with the provincial officials on November 20, Vice Chairman of Bac Tra My District People’s Committee Tran Anh Tuan called on EVN for early support to help the locals to repair their homes.

“Local residents haven't received any financial assistance so far to deal with the impacts of the earthquake. Without timely support, there is a stronger possibility that any future earthquakes could cause more damage and threaten safety," he added.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Phuong, Deputy Director of the Global Physics Institute’s Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Centre, said more earthquakes with stronger intensity may continue to occur around the plant in the next few years. He added that local authorities should have plans to evacuate the area near the Tranh River 2 hydropower.

Earlier, Vu Huy Hoang, Minister of Industry and Trade, said he will work with EVN to solve problems that are not just specific to Song Tranh 2, but are shared by other hydropower plants in Quang Nam. Hoang further said that since the safety of Song Trang 2's dam remains uncertain, the Government will not allow the further storage of water while the monitoring process is ongoing.

VNN/SGGP/DanTri