Dak Nong declares state of 'emergency natural disaster'

Prolonged rain and floods have caused many irrigation works, roads, and houses to collapse and be damaged. Dak Nong has declared a natural disaster emergency to handle situations that do not follow procedures.

The dam body of Dak NTing reservoir is cracked, concrete is protruding. Photo: Ngoc Oanh — The dam body of Dak N'Ting reservoir is cracked, concrete is protruding. Photo: *Ngoc Oanh*

On August 8, the Dak Nong Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to declare an emergency situation to respond to and repair traffic and irrigation works damaged by recent floods.

According to the Provincial People's Committee, from the end of July to August 6, the area experienced many prolonged heavy rains, with the total rainfall at Dak Ha station being nearly 400 mm. On August 1, many cracks appeared on the dam body and around the Dak N'Ting reservoir. Up to now, the cracks in the hill area near the foot of the dam are about 500 m long, more than 150 m deep and have not stopped.

The hill on the right side of the dam has collapsed, covering an area of about 10 hectares of people's farmland. It is estimated that nearly one million cubic meters of land is at risk of landslides. The dam body also has many large cracks of 10-20 cm. The road on the dam body is broken, the concrete part is raised, the spillway is moved about 63 cm, causing instability of the structure, the safety of the dam and the downstream area.

Dak NTing irrigation reservoir contains 1.2 million cubic meters of water. Photo: Ngoc Oanh — Dak N'Ting irrigation reservoir contains 1.2 million cubic meters of water. Photo: *Ngoc Oanh*

For National Highway 14 (section through Gia Nghia City), up to now the crack is about 40 m long, subsided 4.5 m, causing structural instability, affecting the safety of life and property of 16 nearby households.

The flood also caused a 540 meter long landslide at Bon Bu Krac and Bon Bu Prang (Quang Truc commune, Tuy Duc district), about 300 meters from the foot of Dak Ke irrigation dam, threatening the houses and lives of more than 200 people.

Regarding emergency response and recovery plans, the Provincial People's Committee requested relevant agencies to calculate dam break scenarios, water flow paths affecting downstream areas, and survey and propose drainage plans for the sliding block...

The Dak Nong Provincial People's Committee has requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to support or propose the Government to support about 50 billion VND to urgently fix the incident at Dak N'Ting reservoir. This fund will also help the locality overcome the consequences of natural disasters, especially traffic and irrigation works affected by the recent floods.

National Highway 14 through Gia Nghia City has large cracks. Photo: Ngoc Oanh — National Highway 14 through Gia Nghia City has large cracks. Photo: *Ngoc Oanh*

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Canh Thai (member of the working group of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the main cause of cracks and displacement is still heavy and prolonged rain.

"The highest rainfall in July every year is only about 400 mm, but this year it is more than 700 mm. Heavy rain increases the groundwater level and reduces soil cohesion, especially at the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season," said Mr. Thai.

Regarding the Dak N'Ting water reservoir incident, Mr. Thai recommended that Dak Nong province needs to have a comprehensive solution, lowering the groundwater level; lowering the slope of the excavated roof; building drainage ditches to prevent rainwater from seeping into the sliding block, especially using measures to increase the stability of the sliding block.

Dak Nong was established in 2004 after being separated from Dak Lak province. The province is located in the South of the Central Highlands, including one city and seven districts; an area of over 6,000 km2; a population of over 600,000 people (in 2020), with many ethnic minorities such as: Ede, Nung, M'nong, Tay... The province's strengths are industrial crops such as coffee, rubber, pepper...

In addition to Dak Nong, unusual floods this year have also devastated and caused damage to many provinces in the Central Highlands, the West, and especially many northern mountainous provinces.

Tran Hoa

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