Safety after dam shoulder failure

People of Tan Tien commune temporarily relocated to a local kindergarten before the incident due to natural disasters.

In Bac Khe village, Tan Tien commune on the morning of October 8, dozens of people returned home after being evacuated. Previously, on the afternoon of October 7, upon receiving information about the incident of the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam shoulder breaking, people in Bac Khe village were very worried. Immediately, the local government and functional forces urgently propagated and supported the evacuation of households to a safe place, with a total of 36 households.

Mr. Tran Van Duong, Party Cell Secretary, Head of Bac Khe Village, Tan Tien Commune shared: Before the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam shoulder failure, we were racing against time to ensure the safety of people's lives. We announced the evacuation via loudspeakers, telephones, and text messages on social media groups. The cooperation of the people along with the determination of the local authorities and functional forces helped the evacuation to take place quickly, in an organized manner, and without any unfortunate incidents. The evacuation was carried out to kindergartens, commune health stations, and households in high terrain to ensure people's safety.

Mr. Nong Van Khang, Bac Khe village, Tan Tien commune said: My house is nearly 200m from the hydroelectric dam. Initially, when we learned that the hydroelectric dam had broken and water was flowing strongly downstream, my family and the people around this area were quite worried. Following the instructions of the commune government and functional forces, my family evacuated to a safe place on the afternoon of October 7. Currently, the situation is relatively stable, the downstream area of the hydroelectric dam is not flooded.

Also one of the villages with many affected households, on the afternoon of October 7, many families in Hop Luc village, Tan Tien commune cooperated and quickly evacuated to a safe place. Mr. Hoang Van Duc, Head of Hop Luc village informed: Since the afternoon of October 7, the village has 10 affected households in the village that have evacuated according to the guidance and support of the commune government and functional forces.

It is known that the whole Tan Tien commune has a total of 196 households, with 779 people affected by the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam shoulder failure, mainly concentrated in 3 villages: Bac Khe, Na Soong and Hop Luc.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Hung, Chairman of Tan Tien Commune People's Committee, said: In response to the above incident, on the afternoon of October 7, the Commune People's Committee coordinated with the Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Plant Management Unit and other departments and branches to notify and propagate people to evacuate from the dangerous area. At the same time, the commune coordinated with armed forces to support the evacuation of about 803 households from flooded and landslide areas. Thanks to that, the safety of people's lives was ensured, and so far the commune has had no human casualties. The places where people were evacuated to all ensured living conditions, safety, and adequate support for necessities.

According to our investigation, due to the fact that the water level has receded, most of the relocated households with houses in the higher areas have returned home, while we continue to mobilize nearly 20 households in the lower areas downstream to temporarily relocate to Kim Dong Kindergarten. "For those households that have returned home, we continue to propagate to the people not to be negligent or subjective" - Chairman of Tan Tien Commune People's Committee said.

With the initiative of the base, immediately after receiving information about the dam shoulder break of Bac Khe 1 hydropower plant, the Provincial People's Committee established a working group to go to the scene to inspect and handle the incident. The Provincial People's Committee also directed the plan to cut off power to the area, stop the machine, check the discharge control system and ensure safety in the downstream area.

Comrade Doan Thanh Son, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, emphasized: Immediately after the incident, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee directed urgent remediation, especially the evacuation of all people affected by the incident in the downstream area, ensuring absolute safety for people. The Provincial People's Committee also coordinated with the working group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment , the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Department of Rescue and Search and Rescue under the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army to conduct surveys, inspections, and direct remediation of the incident. Currently, due to water level conditions, motor vehicles cannot access the area where the dam shoulder broke, so the province is waiting for the water level at the hydroelectric reservoir to drop to a safe level to approach the scene to make a comprehensive and thorough assessment of the project, based on reviewing and consulting with competent authorities to remediate the incident as soon as possible, ensuring safety for the downstream area.

According to the investigation, the current situation of the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam shoulder failure is unlikely to spread, the hydropower project is still basically safe, and the spillway system is still operating normally.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/on-dinh-doi-song-nguoi-dan-sau-su-co-vo-vai-dap-thuy-dien-bac-khe-1-5061235.html