VietNamNet Bridge – With an enormous 38 million cubic-meter “water-bag” hung at the height of 72 meters, the Ho Ho hydropower plant is viewed by many residents in Huong Khe district in Ha Tinh province and Huong Hoa commune of Quang Binh province as a major threat to their livelihoods during flood season.

Tens of thousands of households in the localities have been living in constant anxiety that their houses and rice fields would be flooded if the hydropower dam breaks.

Quang Binh and Ha Tinh’s leaders said that residents have been worrying since 2000, when the dam nearly broke.

Ho Ho hydropower plant project easily got approval from local authorities some years ago, when the “hydropower plant movement” was at its the highest peak.

The officials who gave the nod to the project did not consider that the power plant would upset the lives of tens of thousands of local people in the lower area of the Ngan Sau river.

The Ngan Sau’s stream has changed since 2007, when the Ho Ho hydropower plant appeared. In dry season, the river becomes depleted because the hydropower plant stores water. In rainy season, the plant discharges water, causing heavy floods.

A senior official of the Huong Khe district’s People’s Committee said he still remembers the days in 2010 when the “cataclysm” occurred.

“The heavy rains for two consecutive days and nights made the water level rise rapidly,” he said. “At that time, we were sure that the dam would break. But happily enough, this did not occur thanks to the drastic measures taken to help drain the water”.

“Tens of thousands of local people were asked to evacuate their houses,” he continued. “There was no death toll and the dam did not collapse, but villages, houses and crop fields all were swept away by the heavy floods”.

“Right after hearing a big explosion, we saw the flood rushing down. When the flood went down, we discovered that the excavator, which weighed dozens of tons, was swept away dozens of kilometers towards the riverside,” said Tran Xuan Ly, chair of Huong Trach Commune.

“The destructive power of the flood was awful that year. I could not imagine what would have happened if the dam broke,” he added.

According to Le Duc Khang from the Huong Khe district’s authorities, the accident in 2010 caused serious landslides at the communes of Huong Trach, Phuc Trach, Huong Do, Loc Yen, Huong Thuy and Phuong My. At least VND325 billion was needed to fix the problems by building embankments to prevent continued landslides.

Chair of Huong Hoa Commune Truong Quang Than said that of the 50 hectares of land in the locality affected by the 2010 flood, 25 hectares of fertile land cannot be rehabilitated. Before the flood occurred, farmers could harvest two crops every year and earn VND40-60 million for every hectare.

Since the land for agricultural production has disappeared, many families have had to leave their home villages for other localities to earn a living. People have had to pay a heavy price for the 14 MW hydropower plant.

Kinh Te Nong Thon