Fears for villages after hydroelectric dam bursts
BANGKOK — Massive flooding from a hydroelectric dam in Laos left several people dead and hundreds missing, state media said Tuesday. Rescue efforts were underway as government officials rushed to the site and public appeals for aid were launched.
The official Laotian news agency KPL said part of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu province collapsed Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses, flooded villages and made more than 6,600 people homeless.
The website of the state-run Vientiane Times newspaper said two people had been confirmed dead by Tuesday afternoon and the government had declared the area an emergency disaster zone. It said continued rain and strong winds predicted for the next few days could make the situation worse.
KPL said the disaster “left hundreds of people missing,” without providing details.
Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains.
The dam was built by a joint venture led by two South Korean companies with Thai and Laotian partners, and was still under construction. SK Engineering & Construction, one of the two South Korean partners, said in a statement that “part of the upper area” of one of five auxiliary dams at the project “got swept away” Sunday night after several days of heavy rain. It said the auxiliary dam consisted mainly of earth and rock.
SK E&C said repair work was hampered by heavy rain, and damage to the dam worsened on Monday, causing water to overflow and flood seven out of 12 villages in the area. The company said it joined rescue efforts and was trying to contain further damage.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed people sitting on rooftops to escape the surging water, while others were carried to safety or rescued by boat. State media said helicopters were being used to rescue people.
Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended his government’s planned cabinet meeting and travelled with fellow ministers and other senior officials to Sanamxay district to monitor rescue and relief efforts, KPL and the Vientiane Times reported.
Provincial authorities issued a call for emergency aid — clothing, food, drinking water, medicine, cash and other items — from the “party, government organizations, business community, officials, police and military forces and people of all strata.”
Laos is one of the poorest countries in Asia. It has moved from communism to a market economy, but remains a single-party state where freedoms are limited. There is virtually no freedom of the press, and foreign reporters who visit operate under tight restrictions, limiting the flow of information.
Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos’ export earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer.
KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an estimated $1.02 billion US. Much of the financing came from Thai lenders.
According to the website of the company that built and runs the dam, it is majority-owned by SK E&C and Korea Western Power. The Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand holds a 25 per cent stake and the Lao Holding State Enterprise holds 24 per cent.
The dam was built to divert the Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant that is due to begin operations in 2019.