China dam discharges in Mekong

A large-scale hydropower dam in China began releasing a deluge of water from its overfilling reservoir on Friday, leaving downstream neighbours to fear imminent inundation.

The 1,750-megawatt Jinghong dam in China’s Yunan province is discharging over 530 cubic metres of water per second and will continue to do so throughout September, said Thai and Cambodian officials.

Cambodia hasn’t issued flood warnings yet, as none of the monitored water stations have indicated a rise to alert levels.

“We will continue to monitor the water stations closely,” said TE Navuth, secretary-general of the Cambodian National Mekong Committee.

But experts maintained that flash floods remain a concern, especially in light of repeated floods caused by the Yali Falls dam in Vietnam.

“We know when an upstream dam opening its gates to release reservoir water combines with the heavy rains of wet season, it’s a high threat,” said Meach Mean coordinator of 3S Rivers Protection Network.

Contact author: Laignee Barron

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