On the afternoon of October 7, the incident of a part of the Bac Khe 1 hydropower dam (Tan Tien commune, Trang Dinh district, Lang Son province) caused water to overflow downstream.
Fortunately, thanks to proactive relocation work, there were no human casualties, but the downstream area was still deeply flooded, and authorities were on duty all night to respond.
Mr. Ngo The Quang, Director of Bac Khe 1 Hydropower Joint Stock Company - the investor - said that at around 1:30 p.m. on October 7, a section of the dam barrier wall broke, 4-5m long, 3-4m deep.
The incident caused the central control room to collapse, many equipment were flooded and damaged.
"Currently, the water has receded about 1m, after the water level is stable, we will pour concrete to fix the broken area," said Mr. Quang.
A large amount of water from the reservoir has overflowed into Tan Tien, That Khe and Trang Dinh communes, causing local flooding in many low-lying areas.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan, Secretary of the Tan Tien Commune Party Committee, said: "The broken dam area is located on a high mountain, surrounded by very few households. Before 5:00 p.m. on October 6, the commune had evacuated people from the danger zone to respond to storm No. 11."
After the dam broke, people continued to proactively move to higher ground, so there were no casualties.
Police and militia forces have been mobilized to be on duty 24/7 to support people and ensure safety in downstream areas.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Nam, Secretary of the Party Committee of That Khe commune, added: "Due to the impact of heavy rain combined with the amount of water from the incident, many low-lying areas of the commune are currently deeply flooded. However, the relocation work was completed in advance, so there were no human casualties.
It is forecasted that the water level will continue to rise tonight, the commune has mobilized all forces to be on duty all night".
According to the Department of Industrial Safety and Environment (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the Bac Khe 1 hydropower plant has a reservoir capacity of 4.8 million m3, a 107m long dam, a 260m long concrete spillway, the highest at 26.5m, and an installed capacity of 2.4 MW.
The Department said that at the time of the incident, the water flow into the lake was up to 1,572 m3/s, causing a concrete wall at the water intake to break, and the central control room to collapse. The factory is currently flooded, 1 measuring device is damaged, but no other damage has been recorded.
Immediately after discovering the incident, the factory:
Notify the authorities of Tan Tien, Trang Dinh and That Khe communes to evacuate people;
Contact local power outage to ensure safety;
Coordinate with the authorities to organize security and block off vulnerable areas.
On the same afternoon, the Minister of Industry and Trade established an emergency working group to the scene to direct the response and inspection of the cause of the incident.
Nearly 800 people affected
According to statistics from the Department of Transport, the area affected by the incident includes 3 villages of Bac Khe, Na Soong and Hop Luc with a total of 196 households and 779 people. Of which, 23 households (101 people) were directly affected. All have been safely evacuated to high ground, with no casualties.
Currently, specialized agencies are assessing the level of damage, while monitoring dam safety and restoring equipment. The repair work is expected to be implemented immediately after the water level drops to a stable level.
Millions of arms turn to compatriots affected by storms and floods
Consecutive storms No. 8, 9.10 (Bualoi) and floods caused by the storm have killed, left missing, and injured 165 people; many houses and production and business establishments have had their roofs blown off and suffered heavy damage. People across the northern mountainous provinces and the central provinces are struggling to cope with floods and heavy human losses due to floods and thunderstorms.
"A piece of food when hungry is worth a package when full", with the spirit of mutual love that has always been a beautiful image of the Vietnamese people, the Golden Heart Social Charity Fund calls on domestic and foreign philanthropists to join hands to share with people affected by floods to have food, clothing, shelter, students have books to go to school...
The Golden Heart Social Charity Fund would like to sincerely thank the precious feelings of agencies, businesses, and domestic and foreign philanthropists.
Please send any help to: Golden Heart Social Society Fund, No. 51 Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. Phone: 024.39232756. Account number (STK): 113000000758 at Vietinbank Hoan Kiem Branch, Hanoi. STK: 0021000303088 - at Vietcombank - Hanoi Branch, STK: 12410001122556 - at BIDV - Hoan Kiem Branch. Or scan the following QR code:
