More
than 1,000 families in six villages of Pakkading district, Borikhamxay province
in central Laos were affected by flooding over the weekend as tropical storm Nesat
brought heavy rains to the area.
Torrential rain caused rivers to burst their
banks. More than 400 houses and 854 hectares of rice were flooded and five
homes were completely destroyed, according to a report from district
authorities.
Most of the worst affected areas are in
Phonngarm, Phonsy, Haad Saikham, Pak Soun, Pak Pang and Dongsay villages,
Pakkading district Governor Bounyou Thammavongsa told the Vientiane Times
yesterday. Some of the families affected have moved to more secure areas on
Road No. 13 South .
The flooding occurred when the Kading River
rose rapidly after the Nam Theun II and Nam Hinboun hydropower plants released
water from their reservoirs on Friday, Bounyou said.
Two rivers upstream, the Nam Nhouang and the
Nam Theun, also flow into the Kading, which caused the river to rise very
quickly and flood houses and rice crops.
There have been no reports of deaths or
livestock losses in the wake of the flooding.
Bounyou said preliminary estimates put the
damage bill at around 10 billion kip (US$1.24 billion), with roads needing
repairs and rice crops requiring replacement. Recent flooding earlier in the
wet season has already left a 78 billion kip (US$9.72 billion) repair bill for
roads in the area.
Two sections of Road 1D in Viengthong district
were also flooded, as well as some rice fields in Khamkeuth district,
provincial Administration Office Head Vanvilay Daenphoulouang said.
"Some of these places are not accessible
by vehicle at present, but we will continue to work with various organisations
to deliver assistance to people who have lost houses or crops in the
flooding," he said.
The provincial authorities provided six tonnes
of rice and clean water to affected villagers yesterday in a first round of
emergency assistance, which was valued at around 37 million kip (US$4,612).
The Nam Ngum I hydropower plant released 0.7m
of water from its reservoir yesterday, which amounted to 277.2 cubic metres a
second, even though the reservoir level had fallen below the warning level of
213m, according to the plant's Deputy Director Somchay Sichantharat.
He said the volume of water released from the
reservoir was not affecting people living along the river downstream.
Another weather system is approaching Laos,
with tropical storm Nalgae expected to hit central and southern regions. The
storm is forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds to these areas from
October 5-7.
People living in low-lying areas along rivers
and in mountainous areas of central and southern provinces should take all
necessary precautions against strong winds, flooding and landslides, the
Meteorology and Hydrology Department warned Monday.
Tropical storm Nalgae is the nineteenth to
form over the western Pacific and will be the fifth to hit Laos this wet
season. The last four storms which have affected the country have already
caused billions of kip worth of damage, and more than 20 people have died in
flooding.
Khamphone Syvongxay
Vientiane Times
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