Laos Dam collapse - Hundreds Missing

[arjay]

Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number dead after a dam collapsed in south-east Laos, state media reported.

The collapse at the hydroelectric dam in Attapu province late on Monday sent flash floods through six villages, Laos News Agency said.

"Several human lives" were lost and "several hundreds of people [are] missing", it added.

More than 6,600 people have been made homeless by the floods, reports said.

The reason for the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam's collapse is not clear.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44935495

[747man]

The reason for the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam's collapse is not clear.......Errrrr, After Days of HEAVY Rain in the North !!

[Laan Yaa Mo]

The reason for the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam's collapse is not clear.......Errrrr, After Days of HEAVY Rain in the North !!

Maybe it had something to do with faulty construction.

[747man]

The reason for the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy dam's collapse is not clear.......Errrrr, After Days of HEAVY Rain in the North !!

Maybe it had something to do with faulty construction.

Yes A High Possibility also..... Full Story Below....

[747man]

Laos' Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended his Cabinet meeting on Tuesday after an under construction saddle dam of the Xe-Pian Dam in the Southern province of Attapeu collapsed in heavy rains, causing flooding of hundreds of households and a massive evacuation effort, according to the Laos News Agency (KPL).



The PM, his cabinet members and other senior officials went to nearby Sanamxay to monitor the rescue and relief efforts underway for flood victims.



The collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Nam Noy hydropower dam on Monday night caused flash flooding in six villages of Sanamxay district, including Yai Thae, Hinlad, Mai, Thasengchan, Tha Hin, and Samong. Hinlad and Mai villages were hard hit.



The disaster has reportedly claimed several lives, left hundreds of people missing and more than 1,300 families (6,600 people) homeless.



The Attapeu Provincial Administration Office has asked for emergency relief aid for flood victims in Sanamxay district. The authority has requested clothing, food items, drinking water, medicine, cash and other relief items, reported KPL online.



Being built by the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company (PNPC), the 410 MW Xe PianXe Namnoy hydroelectric power project is located in the southern region of the Lao PDR and is estimated to annually generate energy of approximately 1,860 GWh, according to www.powertechnology.com.



PNPC is a joint venture formed in March 2012 by SK Engineering and Construction (SK E&C), Korea Western Power (KOWEPO), Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding (RATCH), and Lao Holding State Enterprise (LHSE). SK E&C hold a 24 per cent stake in PNPC, LHSE 26 per cent, and RATCH and KOWEPO equally own the remaining share in the project.



The project, which is estimated to cost US$1.02 billion (Bt34.1 billion), is the first build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to be undertaken by South Korean companies in Laos.



The feasibility study for the hydroelectric project was completed in November 2008. Construction of the project began in February 2013 and commercial operations were expected to begin in 2018.

[Zidane]

Hundreds of people are missing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly constructed hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed, sending flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported Tuesday.
Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and there are several dams being built or are planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighboring countries like Thailand.
Laos News Agency said the accident happened on Monday evening at a dam in the country's far south, close to the border with Cambodia, releasing 5 billion cubic meters of water - more than two million Olympic swimming pools.

The agency said there were "several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing" while some 6,600 people had been made homeless as authorities scrambled to evacuate villagers from the devastation.
Aerial footage posted on the Facebook page of local news outlet ABC Laos showed a vast brown inundation swamping houses and jungle alike over a huge area.
Another video showed families waiting for rescue on the rooftop of their house, with a nearby Buddhist temple partially submerged.
Nearly 24 hours after the dam's collapse local authorities said they were struggling to gauge the extent of the disaster.
"We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing," an official in Attapeu province, where much of the flooding occurred, told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that was "no phone signal" in the flooded region.
"We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first," the official added.
Heavy rainfall
A Thai company involved in the hydropower project confirmed that a 770-meter-long auxiliary dam used to divert river water had failed after heavy rainfall.