Among those systems are 13 reservoirs, two electrical pumping stations and more than 880 spillways and temporary dams. Two other reservoirs are under construction, including Ang Cang in Muong Ang district and Nam Khau Hu in Dien Bien district. Damaged constructions pose severe threats to people who live in downstream or riverside areas.
According to Nguyen Van Dinh, head of the Department of Water Management, the agency tasked reservoir owners to evaluate the construction’s conditions to draw up plans of flood prevention and resilience. Forest protection and better communication between reservoir owners and local authorities were stressed as essential.
Nguyen Van Duyen, Director of Dien Bien Irrigation Management Company, said that since April 2018, the company had inspected 12 reservoirs and dams that it reinforced for extreme weather events.
Dien Bien province has several irrigation systems located in isolated areas which pose difficulties for search and rescue operations. Moreover, some reservoirs such as Ban Ban, Na Huom and Sai Luong are inaccessible in the flood season.
Meanwhile, the breakwater project along Quang Thai beach in the central province of Thanh Hoa is being postponed, exposing locals to danger when the storm season approaches.
The project, which was invested with more than 180 billion VND (7.9 million USD) and was expected to be completed this month, is currently halted due to slow disbursement.
At the same time, the casuarina forest playing the role of a natural breakwater was completely felled, letting waves directly hit the shore.
Pham Trung Tuan, Vice Chairman of the Quang Thai commune People’s Committee, said that if a powerful storm hit the area, 300 local families would face severe damage.
Because of the postponed project, the landscape is negatively affected, fishing boats have no place to be moored and local fishing is ruined, he said.
