Regarding the Da Lam dam break that occurred on the morning of June 13 in Thai Thuy commune (Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province), Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Investment and Construction Project Management Board Dinh Khanh Hau said that this was not an unexpected incident but a proactive response measure in the context of prolonged extreme floods.
Mr. Hau informed that the Da Lam Reservoir Upgrade Project is invested by the Quang Binh Provincial Agricultural and Environmental Construction Investment Project Management Board, approved by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 59/QD-UBND dated January 10, 2025, and started construction on February 26, 2025. At the time of the incident, the project was constructing important items such as reinforcing the downstream roof of the main dam, building a new spillway and a drainage culvert.
From the evening of June 11 to noon of June 13, Thai Thuy commune recorded 466mm of rain. Prolonged heavy rain caused a large amount of water to flow into the lake.
In that situation, from 4:00 a.m. on June 13, the construction unit proactively dug a flood drainage ditch on the right side of the dam.
However, the lake's water level rises too quickly, if the dike is not demolished to proactively drain the flood, the dike will break, greatly affecting the dam safety.
By 9:00 a.m. the same day, the Project Management Board had directed the demolition of the dike and items serving the construction of the water drainage culvert, to proactively release floodwater, lower the lake water level, and ensure safety for the main dam and the entire project.
The Project Management Board has reported to the People's Committee of Thai Thuy Commune and the People's Committee of Le Thuy District and requested to notify the people of the downstream villages about the situation to deploy appropriate response plans to minimize damage.
As reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, on the morning of June 13, the broken section in Da Lam dam was about 15m long, causing water from the reservoir to overflow strongly to lower communes. Da Lam Dam has a capacity of about 500,000m3.
