Laos issues overflow alert for Mekong communities

By: 2 years ago

Vientiane Times/Asia News Network

VIENTIANE — Laos’ Xayaboury province is advising people living alongside the Mekong River to prepare for possible flooding, while neighboring Thailand has warned its seven north-eastern provinces to brace for sudden overflows along the river until Thursday.

The Lao province issued the alert following heavy rainfall in recent days, which has seen the level of the Mekong rises.

The Administrative Office in Xayaboury province on Saturday published a notice informing people living upstream and downstream of the Xayaboury run-of-river dam to be prepared for possible flooding and to move their belongings and livestock to higher ground.

The warning was issued following a notice circulated earlier on the same day by the Xayaburi Power Company Limited.

District authorities were told to warn local residents to be prepared for a rise in the level of the Mekong.

The notice issued by provincial authorities advised the relevant authorities and local residents to comply with any advice or instructions issued by the Xayaburi Power Company Limited.

According to the notice, flooding may occur after hydropower dams along the Nam Ou River – a tributary of the Mekong – began discharging more water following heavy downpours across many parts of Laos in recent days, especially in the north.

Heavy rain coupled with discharges from dams on the Nam Ou have caused a surge in the volume of water flowing through the Xayaboury dam. As a result, operators of the dam have raised the emergency situation to Level 2 and taken action to manage the situation accordingly.

In neighbouring Thailand, the country’s National Water Command Centre is advising people living near the banks of the Mekong in seven north-eastern provinces to brace for sudden overflows from Sunday until Thursday, Thai PBS reported on Saturday.

The Center said that heavy rain, triggered by Tropical Depression Mulan on August 11 and 12 in Laos’ Luang Prabang area, has substantially increased the volume of water flowing through the Xayaboury dam, causing the level of the downstream Mekong River to rise steadily.