VietNamNet Bridge – As rains continue in the central region, many irrigation works and hydro-power plants located in Lam Dong and Phu Yen provinces on November 4 asked the local authorities’ commission to open their reservoirs.   

The Dai Ninh reservoir in Duc Trong district, Lam Dong province, opened on November 4. The Dong Nai 3 reservoir in Di Linh district also announced to open on November 11.

At the same time, reservoirs in Phu Yen province have asked permission to increase the volume of discharged water in the next few days.

Once the reservoirs open then the people downstream are hit.

After the Da Nhim reservoir in Don Duong district, Lam Dong province opened on November 1, at least five houses were collapsed, hundreds of other houses and thousands of hectares of crops in Don Duong and Duc Trong districts have been severely flooded.

On November 2, Ba Ha reservoir in Phu Yen province discharged more water than it was allowed, causing serious damage to the province.

There are three hydro-power plants in Phu Yen: Song Hinh, Ba Ha and K’rong Nang, with a total capacity of 356 MW. Reservoirs cover large areas of land, mainly forest land, affecting flood prevention.

According to experts, to have 1 MW electricity, power plant has to destroy 10 hectares of forest. Thus, three power plants took away 3560 hectares of forest in Phu Yen. In addition, two other plants are being built in Dong Xuan district.

Rivers in central Vietnam are often short and slope. If forest was not destroyed, the speed of the flooding would have been slower.

Chief of Phu Yen’s national assembly delegation, Trinh Thi Nga, said that if pouring a glass of water onto the heads of two people, one with hairs and on hairless, it is certain that water will run more quickly on the shaven head. It is the same to flood in areas with and without forest.

Nga strongly opposed the construction of hydro-power plants in Phu Yen.

According to Nga, in the dry season, hydro-power plants try to store up water, causing water shortage downstream. In the rainy season, they have to ensure safety for reservoirs by discharging water. In any season, the downstream areas suffer from hydro-power plants.

PV