"Local Vietnamese Officials Say Dam Operators Made Flooding Worse", 17 Oct 2016

Local officials are blaming the operators of the Ho Ho Hydroelectric Plant for making the deadly flooding in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh Province worse by suddenly releasing water held back by the dam.

Le Ngoc Huan, chairman of the province’s Huong Khe district people’s committee, told RFA’s Vietnamese Service that Ho Ba Company officials failed to notify people below the dam of the massive water release that came on Oct. 14 as torrential rain pounded the country.

In this case, Huan accused the dam operators of opening the flood gates at the wrong time. Ho Ba Company officials should have opened the flood gates some days earlier once they learned that a tropical-low was preparing to hit Vietnam during what meteorologist say is one of the strongest monsoons in many years, he said…

Ho Ho Hydro Plant director Vu Manh Hung disputed Huan’s accusations, saying the company followed the “right process” because it had notified surrounding villages so that local people could evacuate…