Muong Hung Hydropower Plant releases water quickly, many villages are isolated

Extreme rain and floods forced Muong Hung Hydropower Plant to urgently open 7/7 water discharge gates, Ma River floodwaters exceeded alert level 3. Many villages in Son La province were isolated due to flooded roads, landslides...

Hydropower plant urgently releases floodwaters on Ma River on August 1

According to Mr. Le Xuan Hung, on duty at the Civil Defense Command of Son La province, the locality is struggling to cope with the heavy rain that lasted from the early morning of August 1, causing many areas to be flooded, isolated and causing serious damage to houses, infrastructure and communications.

Updated at 2:00 p.m. on August 1 from the Civil Defense Command of Son La province, heavy rain occurred over a wide area, with many locations recording very heavy rainfall such as Sam Kha 135mm, Pung Banh 97mm, Muong Lan 95mm. Soil moisture in many communes has reached saturation level, while the water level of the Ma River continues to rise.

Notably, at the Chieng Khuong commune hydrological station, the Ma River water level at 2:00 p.m. was measured at 28,370 cm, 220 cm higher than alarm level 3 and continuing to rise rapidly.

Many villages are surrounded by floodwaters. Photo: Son La Television

Damage to people's homes and property in many communes is currently very serious.

In Muong Lan commune alone, 4 houses were swept away and collapsed by floodwaters.

Similarly, Sop Cop commune had one house swept away by floodwaters, while many households in Chieng Khoong, Chieng So, and Muong Lam communes were forced to evacuate urgently to avoid the risk of landslides and flooding. A total of dozens of households had to be evacuated.

In Muong Lam commune, authorities had to move people and property of 22 households in 4 villages to safety after a suspension bridge over the Ma River was swept away.

Song Ma 3 Hydropower Plant is releasing floodwaters.

The floods also paralyzed traffic in many localities. The road from Dom Cang to Phung Banh was flooded up to 2 meters deep, completely isolating 10 villages.

In Song Ma commune, the section of National Highway 12 from Km325+400 to Km325+500 was flooded 1.4 to 1.6 meters deep. National Highway 4G also had a flooded spot about 30 meters long and 80 centimeters deep. A series of spots on the roads through Bo Sinh and Muong Lam communes were flooded 0.8 to 1.5 meters deep, completely cut off.

The flooding situation is even more serious because the water from the Ma River continues to rise and pour in strongly. At Muong Hung Dam , 7/7 water spill gates have been opened, the flow through the dam is estimated to reach 3,500 to ^4,000m3 /second, far exceeding the normal threshold.

Mr. Le Xuan Hung said that communication in some localities was seriously affected. According to reports from VNPT and Viettel in Son La, floods and landslides broke many cable lines, causing at least 9 BTS stations from 2G to 4G in Muong Lan, Bo Sinh and Nam Ty communes to lose communication. In some places, up to 450m of cable and 5 concrete poles holding the cables were washed away. Important cable lines such as SLA0396, SLA0583, SLA0402 were also broken, completely disrupting the transmission system.

Communes in Son La province urgently reported flooding and released water. Photo: Son La Television

Faced with the emergency, the People's Committee of Son La province issued telegram No. 5, requesting all communes along the Ma River to proactively respond to floods and rains, and at the same time declared a natural disaster emergency in communes at high risk of landslides such as Bo Sinh, Huoi Mot, Muong Lam, Nam Ty, Chieng Khuong and Sop Cop.

On the same day, Son La province also decided to establish a forward command post in Song Ma commune to directly direct rescue work and respond to further developments of floods.

Military forces, police and authorities are being fully mobilized to support people, evacuate property and overcome initial damage.

ANGEL

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/thuy-dien-muong-hung-xa-nuoc-cap-toc-hang-loat-ban-lang-bi-co-lap-post806440.html