Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant on the Da River in northern province of Hoa Binh is discharging water from its reservoir (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has ordered relevantagencies to conscientiously maintain the dyke system and supervise flooddevelopments in the Hong (Red) River basin multi-reservoir operation.
The direction was made at a meeting held by the Central Steering Committee onNatural Disasters Prevention and Control on July 21.
Dung asked authorised agencies to consider opening the second floodgate in SonLa Reservoir in the coming days if the situation calls for.
The first floodgate was opened on July 19 morning to reduce the reservoir’swater level, which had reached 201.9 metres following heavyꦿ rain across thenorthern region. After discharging water, the water level remained high, about201.07 metres by 8am on July 21.
Dung also tasked theNational Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting to issue more frequentforecasts of rains and flows affecting the reservoirs before 5-10 days so thatcompetent agencies could have enough time to smoothly operate the basin’sreservoirs.
The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development was told to takeresponsibility for guaranteeing safety for the dyke system and agriculturalproduction activities downstream of the reservoirs, he said.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the country’s largestpower company the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) were told to speed up theirprogress of setting up online meetings with the Central Steering Committee onNatural Disasters Prevention and Control. It aims to help the committee issueprompt directions, he added.
Dung also required the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of PublicSecurity to install signs that instruct waterway vehicles to safety downstream.
Also at the meeting, Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development and head ofthe steering committee Nguyen Xuan Cuong decided to open the third floodgate ofHoa Binh Reservoir at 6am today (July 22).
Previously, due to prolonged torrential rains, the water level of the reservoirquickly rose. The first floodgate was opened when the water level reached106.19 metres on July 18. Then, the second floodgate also opened on July 19morning, and eight turbines were run at full capacity to discharge water out ofthe reservoir.
However, the water level of the reservoir stayed at 106.32 metres at 8am onJuly 21, even higher than the water level when the first floodgate was opened.Therefore, Cuong decided to unlock the third floodgate.
Permanent steering committee member Tran Quang Hoai said that discharging waterout of the two reservoirs did not affect the dyke system in 13 localities inthe Hong (Red) River system.
Hoang Duc Cuong, director of the National Central for Hydro-meteorologicalForecasting, said that the꧂re was no additional forecast of torrential rain inthe northern region so far. A low-pressure system formed in the northeast ofthe East Sea yesterday has yet to show any impact on Vietnam.-VNA
