HCMC – The competent agencies of Lao Cai Province bordering China have been requested to take urgent measures to ensure the safety of local residents as China has announced that it will release floodwaters in the Red River, which runs through the northern mountainous province.

Vu Van Cai, director of the provincial Department of Foreign Affairs, signed an urgent dispatch to various agencies and local authorities of the province this morning, August 20, saying that it was informed of the plan to release floodwaters in the Red River from Hekou District, Yunnan Province, China. Due to the impact of Tropical Storm Higos and the surging water levels in the Red River caused by heavy downpours, the Madushan hydropower plant in China planned to release floodwaters for eight hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today to ensure safety amid swelling flooding. As a result, the water levels in the Red River are expected to surge. Accordingly, local competent forces and authorities need to urgently notify local residents living near the Red River area concerned and take preventive measures, the department said. Luu Minh Hai, director of the provincial Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Station, told Thanh Nien newspaper that the water level in the Red River as of 11 a.m. in the day was measured at 80.17 meters, which is 0.17 meter higher than the alert level 1. By 8-9 p.m., floodwaters from the Madushan hydropower plant may flow into Lao Cai City. After that, the water level in the river could rise to 83 meters, some one meter above the alert level 2.