Families in Ngeun district, Xayaboury province, move their belongings to safety as floodwaters rose. - VT
VIENTIANE: Persistent heavy rain this month has led to extensive flooding in central and northern areas, causing damage to numerous farms and houses and affecting thousands of people.
Ngeun district in Xayaboury province was one of the worst affected areas after the Yang and Nang rivers burst their banks, while water cascaded down hillsides, flooding crop fields and vegetable plots as well as houses, the Paxaxon newspaper reported on Wednesday (Aug 21).
National Defence Force officers and civil servants as well as people from neighbouring villages arrived on the scene to provide help.
Keodon Khun village, which is situated on a riverbank, suffered the worst of the flooding and many families struggled to cope as water inundated their houses.
The District Disaster Prevention and Prevention Committee came to their aid, helping to move people’s belongings and pets.
According to a report from the committee Chairman, more than 80 houses were affected and 90 hectares of rice fields were under water, as well as 33 hectares of potato crops. Forty-four head of cattle, 500 poultry, 23 livestock farms, and 30 fishponds were also affected.
In addition, several small dams were damaged, roads were flooded, and soil erosion was commonplace.
In Bokeo province, several villages in Tonpheng district were flooded. Villagers were evacuated to higher ground and accommodated in schools and other public facilities, while others took refuge with relatives in unaffected areas.
The meteorology and hydrology station on the Mekong River in Luang Prabang province measured the river level at 10.44 metres on Aug 22. The warning level of the river at this point is 17.5 metres and the danger level is 18 metres, so there is no imminent danger of flooding.
In Savannakhet province, the level of the Mekong was measured at 4.78 metres on Aug 9 and was forecast to rise to 5.04 metres on Augt 19, well below the warning level of 12 metres and the danger level of 13 metres. - Vientiane Times/ANN
