Song Tranh 2 hydro-power dam evacuation plan checked

QUANG NAM - (VNS) Experts from Military Zone 5 yesterday inspected the evacuation plan for people living in earthquake-affected areas near Song Tranh Hydropower Plant in central Quang Nam Province.

According to the plan, the military commanders of Bac Tra My District have developed evacuation strategies to prepare for the worst case scenario – the Song Tranh Dam breaking.

Thousands of households in the affected areas of Tra Doc, Tra Tan, Tra Son, Tra Giang communes and Tra My Town would be moved to the nearest high places.

At each point of evacuation, medical and search and rescue stations would also be set up. The number of stations would depend on the number of evacuated people and the water level.

The provincial Military Command would work with seven units of the armed forces, the steering committee of flood prevention and control and the department of health to prepare for any and all circumstances.

Major General Nguyen Quy Nhon, deputy commander of the Military Zone 5, stressed that it needed to take into account many details such as the distance between residents' homes and evacuation sites, means of transportation and the time it would take to evacuate.

Chairman of the district People's Committee Dang Phong said that the district would co-operate with authorised agencies to make detailed plans for relocation or evacuation in case the dam broke.

The district would help local residents understand the situation and react in time to any problem that occurred.

Recently, consecutive earthquakes ranging between 2-3.8 on the Richter scale have occurred near Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant in Bac Tra My District. They caused cracks in hundreds of houses and dozens of public works.

Currently, there is no water in reservoirs, but experts raised concerns that the increased water of the rainy season would raise the water level and might cause disaster if the dam is broken. -- VNS