More than 1,000 families in six villages of Pakkading district, Borikhamxay province, were affected by flooding over the weekend as tropical storm Nesat brought heavy rains to the area.
The swollen Kading River on Sunday. -- Photo Viphaphone
Torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks. More than 400 houses and 854 hectares of rice were flooded and five homes were completely destroyed, according to a report from district authorities.
Most of the worst affected areas are in Phonngarm, Phonsy, Haad Saikham, Pak Soun, Pak Pang and Dongsay villages, Pakkading district Governor Mr Bounyou Thammavongsa told the Vientiane Times yesterday. Some of the families affected have moved to more secure areas on Road No. 13 South .
The flooding occurred when the Kading River rose rapidly after the Nam Theun II and Nam Hinboun hydropower plants released water from their reservoirs on Friday, Mr Bounyou said.
Two rivers upstream, the Nam Nhouang and the Nam Theun, also flow into the Kading, which caused the river to rise very quickly and flood houses and rice crops.
There have been no reports of deaths or livestock losses in the wake of the flooding.
Mr Bounyou said preliminary estimates put the damage bill at around 10 billion kip, with roads needing repairs and rice crops requiring replacement. Recent flooding earlier in the wet season has already left a 78 billion kip repair bill for roads in the area.
Two sections of Road 1D in Viengthong district were also flooded, as well as some rice fields in Khamkeuth district, provincial Administration Office Head Mr Vanvilay Daenphoulouang said.
“Some of these places are not accessible by vehicle at present, but we will continue to work with various organisations to deliver assistance to people who have lost houses or crops in the flooding,” he said.
The provincial authorities provided six tonnes of rice and clean water to affected villagers yesterday in a first round of emergency assistance, which was valued at around 37 million kip.
The Nam Ngum I hydropower plant released 0.7m of water from its reservoir yesterday, which amounted to 277.2 cubic metres a second, even though the reservoir level had fallen below the warning level of 213m, according to the plant's Deputy Director Mr Somchay Sichantharat.
He said the volume of water released from the reservoir was not affecting people living along the river downstream.
Another weather system is approaching Laos, with tropical storm Nalgae expected to hit central and southern regions. The storm is forecast to bring heavy rain and strong winds to these areas from October 5-7.
People living in low-lying areas along rivers and in mountainous areas of central and southern provinces should take all necessary precautions against strong winds, flooding and landslides, the Meteorology and Hydrology Department warned yesterday.
Tropical storm Nalgae is the nineteenth to form over the western Pacific and will be the fifth to hit Laos this wet season. The last four storms which have affected the country have already caused billions of kip worth of damage, and more than 20 people have died in
