VietNamNet Bridge – The police in the central province of Khanh Hoa’s Ninh Hoa Town identified the person who posted a fake story about Da Ban dam being broken on Facebook.

Worried residents gather at Bac Tra My District’s People’s Committee headquarters after hearing rumours about Song Tranh 2 hydropower dam being broken. — Photo Vov.vn

After being summoned for interrogation, Nguyen Minh Hau, 20, a resident of Ninh Quang Commune, admitted that he was at a grocery store, when he heard someone saying the dam was broken, and so he posted it online.

On November 6, when the residents of Ninh Hoa Town were busy dealing with the consequences of the typhoon Damrey, the spread of the information about the broken Da Ban dam, a large dam located in the west of the town, left hundreds of households in the downstream scared, and they began to evacuate the area.

After an investigation, police officers confirmed that the dam was safe and the entire story was fabricated. Due to the power outage after the storm, local authorities dispatched officials to the residential areas to reassure residents.

Further investigations are underway, and Hau will be punished in accordance with State regulations.

Relating to another rumour about Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Dam being broken, Nguyen Nhuan, vice chairman of Bac Tra My District People’s Committee in Quang Nam Province, said that due to heavy rains in the district in the evening of November 5 and early November 6, the water level at Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Reservoir reached its peak and led to a water discharge.

The main left bank of the dam was also damaged by a landslide.

The false information might have resulted from the fact that some people might have been worried about the high volume of water in the reservoir, and hence warned their relatives downstream of the situation, Nhuan told vov.vn.

As a result, thousands of residents in Bac Tra My gathered at the district People’s Committee headquarters on November 6, he said, adding that the local police were investigating four people suspected of spreading the false news.

Source: VNS