Flooding from dam release affects Vientiane residents and crops
About 300 homes and more than 4,000 hectares of rice and other crops in low-lying areas along Nam Ngum River in Thoulakhom district, Vientiane province, have been flooded after the Nam Ngum I Hydropower Plant released water from its reservoir over the weekend.
Local people watch water being released from the dam after the river's water level exceeded the danger limit on Saturday.
Most of the affected people live in Hadxay, Boungphao and Chaeng villages, district Governor Mr Kongsy Oudom told Vientiane Times reporters during a survey of the areas yesterday.
Some villages, especially Thin, Hadsiew, Tanpiew, Phonpheng and Lingxan, cannot be accessed by vehicles because the depth of the floodwater is around 1.5m, he said.
The district authorities have not assessed the extent of the damage because they are waiting for the water to recede, he added.
There are no reports of the death of livestock or people because residents were given warning of the impending release and had time to move possessions and animals to higher ground.
Some rice crops in other downstream areas such as Vienkham district, Vientiane province, and Xaythany district in Vientiane were also affected by the release.
The district authorities are cooperating with the district security office and relevant sectors to prepare an emergency response if water levels continue to rise, said Mr Kongsy.
The amount of water released from the power plant this year is more than in 2008 but less than in 1995, he said.
On Monday, the floodwater in the district town had decreased by between 1-10cm compared to the previous day, while the water level in some areas is higher because it increased water levels in other rivers, he explained.
“In terms of emergency assistance, we need drinking water right away because the floodwaters have inundated bore holes and wells,” Mr Kongsy said.
People in low-lyin g areas downstream in Pak Ngum district will need to prepare for the floodwaters to arrive there.
In addition to the 2.4m of water released on Saturday, the dam released another 2.2m of water yesterday. Officials at the plant said that releases would continue until the water in the reservoir decreases to below the 212.30m danger level.
According to the Meteorology and Hydrology Department, people and crops in low-lying, downstream areas where the Nam Leek and Nam Ngum Rivers meet will be at risk of flooding if heavy rain continues to fall over the next few days.
The level of the river that feeds the power plant decreased to 213.27m yesterday and is expected to drop to 213.23 today, the department's Weather Forecasting and Aeronautical Division Deputy Head Mr Vandy Douangmala reported.
“We cannot predict when the power plant will finish releasing water because it is still the wet season and rain will continue to fall,” he said.
The Nam Ngum I Hydropower Plant release also prompted the release of 40cm of water from the Nam Ngum II Hydropower Plant.
Gadhafi Urges Residents to Clear Tripoli of RebelsPosted Wednesday, August 24th, 2011 at 6:20 am Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has urged residents of the capital, Tripoli, to clear the city of rebels, after the opposition fighters overran his compound, taking weapons, television sets and souvenirs from the site.
In a message broadcast Wednesday, Mr. Gadhafi also said he had discreetly gone out in Tripoli without being seen, but did not say when that occurred.
A pro-government television channel quoted Mr. Gadhafi earlier as saying he had retreated from the Bab al-Aziziya compound in a “tactical move” after dozens of NATO strikes there. Al-Rai TV reported Wednesday that Mr. Gadhafi addressed Libyans on a local radio station, saying he vowed martyrdom or victory in his fight against what he called NATO aggression.
Residents in Tripoli celebrated early Wednesday after the rebels stormed the Bab al-Aziziya compound, despite finding no sign of the embattled leader or his family.
The raid came after three days of fighting in Tripoli that the head of the rebel Transitional National Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said had left more than 400 people killed and 2,000 wounded. He did not specify whether he was talking of both sides.
Jalil also told France-24 Television that some 600 pro-Gadhafi fighters had been captured but that the battle would not be over until the Libyan leader himself was a prisoner. Tripoli's new rebel military chief, Abdel-Hakim Belhaj, said late Tuesday that a small area of the vast Gadhafi compound was still under government control.
The rebels' de-facto prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, is set to meet Wednesday in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose office said the two will discuss the situation in Libya and international efforts to support a political transition.
Gun battles flared across the capital Tuesday as pro-Gadhafi fighters blockaded foreign journalists in their hotel. Meanwhile, residents in the Libyan port city of Zuara, near the Tunisian border, said loyalist forces continued to pound the town with mortars and rockets.
U.S. officials in Washington said Tuesday they believe Mr. Gadhafi is still in Libya. In New York, Libya's Deputy U.N. Ambassador, Ibrahim Dabbashi, told reporters he expects Tripoli to be completely liberated within the next three days.
Meanwhile, Libyan rebels say they also have taken control of the eastern oil port of Ras Lanuf Tuesday. The major oil port is east on the road to Mr. Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte.
In addition to parts of Tripoli, pro-government forces also control at least two major cities affiliated with his tribe – Sabha, to the south, and Sirte, some 450 kilometers east of the capital along the coast.
A NATO spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu, told reporters in Brussels that NATO's mission in Libya is not over, and that it will continue military operations until all attacks and threats of attacks against civilians have stopped. The spokesman Colonel Roland Lavoie added that NATO forces are not specifically targeting Mr. Gadhafi, but that the alliance will strike “wherever is necessary” in Libya to protect civilians.
Mr. Gadhafi's whereabouts remain unknown. But his son and one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, defiantly appeared in the city early Tuesday saying his father was still in Tripoli and that his government was still in control.
The rebels earlier claimed to have arrested Seif al-Islam, but he spoke to foreign journalists at the Gadhafi-controlled Rixos Hotel, then led a convoy of vehicles through loyalist areas, where television footage showed him pumping his fists in the air as supporters cheered him on.
Senior rebel sources also said another of Mr. Gadhafi's sons – Mohammed – escaped house arrest Monday. A third son apparently is still in detention.
Opposition council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said Mr. Gadhafi will receive a fair trial if captured.
