Song Tranh dam left undamaged by quake: official

HA NOI — A recent earthquake that hit Tra My District in central Quang Nam Province did not have any impact on the Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant, Nguyen Van Hai, director of the hydropower plant management board, affirmed yesterday.

According to the Institute of Geophysics, the 4.2 Richter earthquake shook the region on Monday at 8pm and the seismic focus was at the depth of 7.3km.

Nguyen Hong Phuong, deputy director of the institute's Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Centre, said the earthquake possibly resulted from instabilities in shear zones Tra Bong, Hung Nhuong - Ta Vi within Song Tranh 2 hydropower plant reservoir or consequences of earthquakes in this area starting from the end of last year.

He also confirmed that so far, the hydropower plant was still safe because the acceleration of the earthquake recorded 88cm/s/s and the dam was designed to face tremors up to 150cm/s/s.

However, it is necessary to set up earthquake observation stations in this area to have specific data for the long-term so that forecasts about the consequences of earthquakes can be released, he said.

Pham Viet Tich, deputy director of the province's Science and Technology Department, said the department was proposing the construction of five earthquake observation stations.

In the past two years, tremors and earthquakes have been on the rise in this area although no losses have been recorded.

Hai also said that work to reduce water leakage at the main dam of the plant had been completed.

The 190MW plant was put into operation in 2011 and thermal gaps leaking water were detected in the beginning of the year. —VNS