On November 14, Mr. Vu Ngoc An - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Gia Lai province said that the unit is currently coordinating and mobilizing dozens of people including: Police, militia, irrigation companies, people... to pass rocks to patch the hole in the body of Ia Ring dam.
That same morning, flood control workers at the Ia Ring reservoir irrigation system discovered a large sinkhole in the middle of the dam. The sinkhole grew larger and larger, creating a vortex that caused water to leak out.
Initially, authorities determined that the water leak had flooded more than 10 hectares in the downstream area of Ia Ring field in Ia Tiem, Chu Pong communes and Chu Se town.
“From this morning to this afternoon, dozens of people have been working hard to transport rocks into baskets to patch the sinkhole on the dam body, avoiding the risk of the sinkhole expanding,” said Mr. Vu Ngoc An.
The People's Committee of Chu Se district has directed communes and towns to notify people not to approach flooded areas and to move assets away from flooded areas.
The Ia Ring reservoir irrigation system project started in 2004 and was completed in 2008.
The dam is 537m long, 30.65m high, 6m wide at the top, with a designed irrigation area of 2,300ha, providing domestic water for about 18,000 households in Chu Se district.
