On the morning of November 3, the leader of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lam Dong province informed that through initial inspection, Viet Phong Phu Farm Company had up to 5 reservoirs on high mountains.
The lake that broke and caused flash floods is the largest lake with a water surface area of over 20 hectares, 5 - 6m deep, and a capacity of about 900,000m3.
The project of Viet Phong Phu Farm Company Limited was licensed in 2017, constructed in 2018, with many items serving livestock farming, farming, fertilizer production... However, the reservoirs are not in the project's licensed design documents.
According to the report of Tuy Phong Commune People's Committee, the water ho burst incident affected 17 households, with a total area of about 4.4 hectares of crops damaged.
Of which, 9 households suffered heavy damage, initially estimated at 500 to 600 million VND. Tuy Phong Commune People's Committee has advised the Party Committee to visit and support 17 affected households.
Mr. Pham Thanh Bac - Chairman of Tuy Phong Commune People's Committee - said that the local government and authorities have worked with Viet Phong Phu Farm Company to request initial support of 40 million VND for 20 households; at the same time, mobilized mechanical means to repair the eroded roads.
However, these measures are only temporary and do not completely solve the safety problem of reservoirs on Tan Lai mountain.
On November 2, after working with local authorities and checking the site, Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee Ho Van Muoi affirmed: "The broken reservoir causing serious consequences is a natural disaster, not a natural disaster".
The Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee requested Lam Dong Provincial Police to coordinate with relevant agencies to quickly investigate and clarify the cause of the incident.
Mr. Ho Van Muoi also directed relevant units to quickly conduct a comprehensive inspection of the reservoir on the mountain in Tuy Phong commune, clarifying the cause of the lake breach according to regulations.
According to the Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, the meteorological agency forecasts that there will continue to be rain in the coming days, while the remaining lakes in this area will still store water, with a great risk.
Therefore, the provincial leaders agreed with the proposal to reduce the amount of water stored in other lakes to prevent repeated incidents.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper reported that at around 8:00 p.m. on November 1, the reservoir serving agricultural production of Viet Phong Phu Farm Company Limited, directed by Mr. Tran Quang Tinh (51 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City), suddenly broke.
Water from the lake was broken combined with a large flow on the canals connecting the lakes in Suoi Mang - Cay Ca and Tan Lai stream flowing into the Cay Ca residential area (Tuy Phong commune), causing flash floods.
The flash flood killed a girl and injured many others. The lake break caused severe damage to houses, crops, livestock and many other properties of local people.
