KHÁNH HÒA — The police in the central province of Khánh Hòa’s Ninh Hòa Town identified the person who posted a fake story about Đá Bàn dam being broken on Facebook.

After being summoned for interrogation, Nguyễn Minh Hậu, 20, a resident of Ninh Quang Commune, admitted that he was at a grocery store, when he heard someone saying the dam was broken, and so he posted it online.

On November 6, when the residents of Ninh Hòa Town were busy dealing with the consequences of the typhoon Damrey, the spread of the information about the broken Đá Bàn dam, a large dam located in the west of the town, left hundreds of households in the downstream scared, and they began to evacuate the area.

After an investigation, police officers confirmed that the dam was safe and the entire story was fabricated. Due to the power outage after the storm, local authorities dispatched officials to the residential areas to reassure residents.

Further investigations are underway, and Hậu will be punished in accordance with State regulations.

Relating to another rumour about Sông Tranh 2 Hydropower Dam being broken, Nguyễn Nhuần, vice chairman of Bắc Trà My District People’s Committee in Quảng Nam Province, said that due to heavy rains in the district in the evening of November 5 and early November 6, the water level at Sông Tranh 2 Hydropower Reservoir reached its peak and led to a water discharge.

The main left bank of the dam was also damaged by a landslide.

The false information might have resulted from the fact that some people might have been worried about the high volume of water in the reservoir, and hence warned their relatives downstream of the situation, Nhuần told vov.vn.

As a result, thousands of residents in Bắc Trà My gathered at the district People’s Committee headquarters on November 6, he said, adding that the local police were investigating four people suspected of spreading the false news. — VNS