On September 19, the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control of Thua Thien Hue province said that due to the influence of the tropical depression and storm, there will be heavy rain and very heavy rain on the mainland of the province from the morning of September 19 to September 21. The total rainfall for the entire period is commonly 200 - 300mm, with some places over 500mm.
Currently, hydroelectric reservoirs are at low water levels, accumulating water for operation. At Binh Dien hydroelectric reservoir (Binh Dien commune, Huong Tra town), the current water level is 64.5m above the dead water level of 11.5m. The reservoir is accumulating water, operating 2 turbines with a flow rate of 64m3/s. On the morning of September 19, it only operated for 2 hours and then stopped.
It is known that Binh Dien Hydropower Plant is built on Huu Trach River upstream of Huong River. The plant has a capacity of 44MW, average annual electricity output of 181 million kW/h, generating electricity to the national grid in May 2009.
At Huong Dien Hydropower Plant on the Bo River, on the morning of September 19, the lake water level was 49.04m, 3.04m higher than the dead water level and nearly 9m lower than the normal rising water level. The lake is running out of water, so the plant is storing water for operation during this rain. Huong Dien Hydropower Joint Stock Company has fully prepared supplies, materials, equipment and arranged 100% of its personnel to be on duty to meet the requirements of responding to natural disasters in all situations.
In Thua Thien Hue province, there are a total of 13 hydropower plants put into operation with a total capacity of 459.3 MW. The electricity output in 2023 is 1,920.418 million kWh, reaching 87.6%. The electricity output in the first 6 months of 2024 is 498.777 million kWh, reaching 64.1% compared to the electricity output in the same period of 2023.
Electricity production in the first 6 months of 2024 is lower than the same period in 2023 because the amount of water flowing into hydroelectric reservoirs in the first months of 2024 is lower than in the first months of 2023. At the same time, hydroelectric reservoirs retain water in the lakes to serve production and daily life downstream during the dry months of 2024 and comply with the water level at the lakes at each time specified in the inter-reservoir operation process on the Huong River basin approved by the Prime Minister.
Regarding storm No. 4, according to the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control of Thua Thien Hue province, on September 18, in Phu Vang district, in Phu Ho and Phu Xuan communes, a tornado occurred, causing 1 person to be slightly injured and received first aid at Phu Ho medical station; the roofs and outbuildings of 12 households were blown off.
To ensure the safety of the people, on September 18 alone, Nam Dong district evacuated 34 households/119 people to safe locations; in Phu Loc district, local authorities organized the evacuation of households living at the foot of Phu Gia and Phuoc Tuong mountains, which are at risk of landslides, to safe places on the morning of September 19.
Currently, the rain tends to spread to Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces, in Thua Thien Hue province, the rain has decreased rapidly. It is forecasted that in the evening and tonight, September 19, Thua Thien Hue province will have rain, some places will have moderate rain, heavy rain with rainfall of 20 - 60mm, some places over 80mm.
From September 20 to 21, there will be scattered showers and thunderstorms in some places, locally moderate rain, heavy rain with rainfall of 20 - 40mm, some places over 50mm, rain mainly concentrated in the late afternoon and at night.
