The Devastating Floods in Northern Vietnam: An Urgent Crisis

As of September 9th, the heavy rains caused by the influence of the third storm have been impacting the northern provinces of Vietnam. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the water levels in the reservoirs and hydropower plants are rising rapidly.

The Ministry has been consistently directing the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant to release water through its spillway gates. As of now, the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant has opened six bottom gates, while the Thac Ba Hydropower Plant has opened three spillway gates, and the Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant has opened two.

“The inflow to the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant is enormous, reaching 6,000 cubic meters per second. However, we are regulating the discharge to maintain a level of over 2,000 cubic meters per second,” said Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep. He added that with the current situation, the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant will continue to open its spillway gates to release water.

Addressing concerns about the continuous discharge of water from the hydropower plants and its potential relation to the collapse of Phong Chau Bridge in Phu Tho province, where the Thao River was flowing strongly, Deputy Minister Hiep clarified that there is no connection between the two events as they are on different branches (the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Plant discharges into the Lo River).

According to Deputy Minister Hiep, the current flood situation in the Thao River (Lao Cai, Yen Bai, and Phu Tho), Lo River (Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang), Luc Nam and Thuong River (Bac Giang), and Thai Binh River (Hai Duong) is critical. In many areas, the water levels have surpassed the danger level, indicating a severe flood condition where low-lying areas, including those within cities, are submerged, and the safety of protective dikes along the rivers is threatened.

“The situation is very tense. We are managing the spillway gate operations to minimize damage to the downstream areas. We have also developed response scenarios for different flood levels. Local authorities need to proactively take aggressive action to support and ensure the safety and security of the people and their property,” Deputy Minister Hiep emphasized.

Regarding the downstream areas in Hanoi, the Deputy Minister assured that the water level in the Hong River remains below the warning level, so there are no concerns at this point.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, as of 7:00 am today, the water level in the Thao River at Yen Bai was 33.69 meters, 1.69 meters above the danger level 3. In the Cau River at Dap Cau, the water level was 4.73 meters, 0.33 meters above warning level 1. Meanwhile, in the Thuong River at Phu Lang Thuong, the water level reached 5.47 meters, 0.17 meters above warning level 2. Similarly, in the Luc Nam River at Luc Nam, the water level was recorded at 6.70 meters, surpassing warning level 3 by 0.40 meters.

At the same time, the water level in the Lo River at Tuyen Quang was measured at 20.15 meters, about 1.85 meters below warning level 1. In the Thai Binh River at Pha Lai, the water level was 3.73 meters, 0.27 meters below warning level 1.

The forecast predicts that the flood in the Luc Nam River will change slowly and peak at 6.80 meters around noon today, exceeding warning level 3 by 0.5 meters before receding.

Meanwhile, the flood in the Lo River at Tuyen Quang will continue to rise rapidly. The flood in the Thao River at Lao Cai, Yen Bai, and Phu Tho will also continue to rise slowly.

There is a high risk of flooding in low-lying areas near the rivers in Lang Son, Cao Bang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh, and Thanh Hoa provinces. Additionally, there is a danger of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas of the Northern region and Thanh Hoa province.