Death Toll Likely to Rise After Dam Collapse.

[NNadir]

I hadn't heard this news item, but of course, one wouldn't, since hydroelectricity is "green."

So, I've heard.

It's too bad there was nothing radioactive there. We'd all hear about endlessly in that case...sort of like we heard of the greatest human tragedy of all time, the collapse of a tunnel at the Hanford Nuclear Weapons plant.

More than two dozen people have died in southeastern Laos after part of a newly built hydroelectric dam broke on July 23, flooding nearby villages. Government officials on July 25 said it had confirmed 26 deaths, with fears the death toll will rise with more than 130 people officially listed as missing and heavy rain continuing in the region.

Officials said more than 3,000 people lost their homes due to flooding after the dam broke on Monday. Social media posts showed people sitting on rooftops, with numerous boat rescues ongoing, and the heavy rain is hindering rescue efforts. The intergovernmental Mekong River Commission said rainstorms have caused water levels in the river to rise by as much as 15 feet in the past week.

The hydropower project is one of dozens under construction in Laos, many backed by Chinese companies, as the country seeks to provide more access to electricity for its population, a common thread in Southeast Asia. Khammany Inthirath, Laos’ minister of Energy and Mines, in a July 4 meeting told government officials about 92% of the country’s population has access to electricity, with a goal to reach 95% of Laotian households by 2020. The country also wants to increase its power exports to neighboring countries, including Thailand.

The failed dam is part of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric project. The dam failed Monday evening during heavy rains, sending more than 170 billion cubic feet of water downstream. The project is being developed by two South Korean companies—Korea Western Power and SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C).

Korea Western Power in a statement said one of five auxiliary earth-fill dams at the project was visibly weakened on July 20. SK E&C in a statement said the top of the dam collapsed July 22 despite efforts by workers to control the damage during heavy rain.

Water began flowing rapidly out of the reservoir on July 23. SK E&C said seven nearby villages were quickly flooded. The company said it was assisting evacuation and rescue efforts.

Thongloun Sisoulith, the country’s prime minister, at a July 25 news conference said some residents had been rescued from trees and confirmed several villages and farmland had been flooded. Bounhom Phommasane, governor of the district of Sanamxay, told The Vientiane Times newspaper, “A second step for us will be to recover and identify the deceased, but for now, we hurry to find those who are still alive in the area...”

Death Toll Likely to Rise

It doesn't compare, of course, to the collapse of the Banqio dam in China in 1976, about which we couldn't care less and which seems to have killed hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed millions of homes, but nonetheless, it's real.

[Eko]

1. And now it's

"the greatest human tragedy of all time, the collapse of a tunnel at the Hanford Nuclear Weapons plant. "
Wow, you really shouldn't be on this site.

[SonofDonald]

4. And states a disaster that killed is not

Like big deal nothing happening here...

Somethin ain't right.

[2naSalit]

2. I heard about it on

the radio last week on NPR.

[NNadir]

5. If it were a nuclear event, it would be discussed for years.

20,000 people died in the Sendai/Fukushima tsunami from seawater.

They don't matter compared to the theoretical deaths from the nuclear plant, which is still being discussed regularly, as if it matters.

In fact, overall, Fukushima matters far more than all the people who died last week from heat related causes.

[SonofDonald]

6. The whole thing is about money and not lives

To the op, I get what you're on about, it's never about people, just the almighty dollar.

I've known this since 1984, I worked for big oil, I did oil charters in the Saint George Basin exploration of the Bering Sea back then.

It's all about money and in the oil business there's tankers full of it to be had.

No matter what a company says about its commodity if they are making money the humans involved are just numbers on paper.

There is no "Green" when cash is involved.

Let me clarify that, when a company reaches a certain size, it's not about people anymore.