People suffered heavy losses due to the reservoir's flood discharge, the company has no money to compensate.

xả lũ - Ảnh 1. — Dragon fruit orchards in Ham Thang ward, Lam Dong province (formerly Binh Thuan ) suffered heavy losses after experiencing two consecutive floods. The upcoming dragon fruit crop for Tet was completely lost, and capital was also swept away by the flood - Photo: MAI VINH

As of December 7, the flood in Lam Dong province has damaged about 7,102 houses in 13 localities of the old Binh Thuan region (now Lam Dong province) which were flooded from December 4 to 6; 17 communes and wards were affected with a total area of about 4,128 hectares of various crops; 24 fishing boats broke their anchors and sank...

Dragon fruit growers lost Tet

These days, dragon fruit growers in the downstream area of Song Quao Lake (formerly Binh Thuan, now Lam Dong) are facing the risk of losing the entire Tet crop as floodwaters have severely damaged their fruit-bearing orchards.

The gardener’s capital, which had been invested for many years, suddenly disappeared. Having grown dragon fruit for about 20 years, Mr. Tran Ngoc Tien (Kim Binh quarter, Ham Thang ward) bitterly said that his garden had never been flooded as badly as this time.

His garden has about 400 pillars, and in just one month, it has been flooded twice. Last month's flood came just when he was lighting the lamps. His family tried to take care of it again, hoping to have fruit to sell for Tet to make up for lost time, but this flood was a "double blow" that caused him to lose everything.

In the recent flood, Ham Thang ward was the most severely affected, with estimated damage of about 120 billion VND. Mr. Tran Ngoc Hien - Chairman of Ham Thang Ward People's Committee - sadly said: "When we went down, people cried and said that the previous flood had damaged all the tables, chairs, beds, TVs, refrigerators... People had just started shopping again, but this time it flooded again, there was no time to save them."

Mr. Hien also added that Ham Thang also has two very large clean vegetable growing areas, specializing in supplying Phan Thiet center, but after two floods, they were completely damaged. As for dragon fruit: "After the previous flood, people handled it in time to turn on the electricity for Tet. But this flood has left a series of dragon fruit gardens beyond saving."

Speaking more about the cause of flooding when there was only enough time to evacuate people but not enough time to protect property and gardens, Mr. Tran Ngoc Hien suggested reviewing flood forecasting, especially in the Cai River basin passing through the ward.

According to Mr. Hien, the total time for floodwaters from Song Quao Lake to reach the area was 6 hours. "This was the golden time for the ward to concentrate all its efforts on evacuating about 2,000 people. As soon as the evacuation was completed, the flood arrived. Luckily, the ward evacuated in time, so no lives were lost in the recent flood," Mr. Hien recalled.

xả lũ - Ảnh 2. — Binh Thuan Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited (Lam Dong province) said that the amount of rain in early December was too heavy, exceeding the capacity of flood prevention storage, so it had to discharge at a record level - Photo: DUC TRONG

Lake owner talks about the shortcomings

A representative of Binh Thuan Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited (the unit managing Song Quao Lake and Long Song Lake) admitted that the current reservoir operation regulations have some points that are no longer suitable to reality, especially in the current extreme weather context.

"The company will propose that the province increase the flood prevention capacity of the reservoirs by adjusting the water level back to normal as it is now. At the same time, the company also proposes to review the time frame for announcing flood discharge to suit the reality of each place," said the representative.

Regarding the losses that people are suffering, a representative of Binh Thuan Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited said that there is no source of compensation or support. According to this person, the unit is 100% funded by the State, and has the function of regulating and operating water reservoirs.

"In the rainy season, we store water to prevent floods, and in the dry season, we regulate irrigation and provide water for people's daily life. The company is not a business entity. However, for the recent losses of the people, the company will propose to the province to support from other sources," the company representative explained.

Explaining further about the record flood discharges, the company said that in recent days, the area has had rare heavy rains in the reservoir basins. The water flowing into the reservoirs is many times higher than the free overflow water and the reservoir has reached the normal water level so it must be released to protect the dam. The company has operated the water discharge in accordance with the decision previously approved by the Provincial People's Committee.

Similarly, at Long Song Lake, the storage capacity is 34.15 million m3, but the rainfall in the basin in just one day brought more than 18 million m3 of water to this lake. The basin of Long Song Lake is much larger than that of Song Quao Lake, but the storage capacity is the opposite, so this lake discharged at a record level of nearly 1,200 m3/s. The distance from Long Song Lake's discharge dam to the downstream is also shorter, so the time for water to flow back is faster, causing flooding and damage to people.

Lam Dong Provincial Party Secretary shares the loss of people in flood-affected areas

On December 7, Lam Dong Provincial Party Secretary Y Thanh Ha Nie K'dam and the province's working delegation visited and supported people in flooded areas in the old Binh Thuan communes and wards. He shared the losses that the people and the locality suffered after the two recent floods.

He requested that localities quickly count the damage and provide details so that the province can have support policies. He noted that communes and wards must propose and pay attention to supporting people in restoring production and rebuilding houses that were severely damaged in the two recent floods.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dan-thiet-hai-nang-vi-ho-xa-lu-cong-ty-khong-co-tien-den-20251208074530014.htm