Ministry clarifies floodwater discharge from China's Malutang hydropower dam
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it and diplomatic agencies of Vietnam in China have urgently worked with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Yunnan province's authorities on the information that China is preparing to release floodwater from its Malutang hydropower dam, which is located in Yunnan province's Wenshan district, and the upstream of the Lo River in Vietnam.
According to Chinese authorities, to support flood prevention and rescue operations in downstream areas of China and Vietnam, the Malutang hydropower dam did not discharge floodwater.
However, due to prolonged heavy rains over several days, the water level at the dam has risen significantly, posing a risk of dam breach, which can cause severe damage to localities in both countries.
After careful consideration, the Chinese side notified the authorities of Vietnam's Ha Giang province of a plan to release floodwater from the Malutang dam from 3:00 pm on September 11 to 2:00 pm on September 12, with a maximum discharge rate of 250cu.m per second.
Following discussions with the Vietnamese side, Chinese authorities announced to reduce the maximum discharge rate from 250cu.m per second to 200cu.m per second, and delay the release time to 4:30 pm on September 11.
China also stated that it has instructed its relevant local authorities to ensure that the flood release is kept to the minimum to maintain the safety of the dam.
Regarding the upstream of the Yuan River of China/Red River of Vietnam, the Chinese side affirmed that all hydropower plants and dams in China are not releasing any floodwater.
Following the directions from the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnamese diplomatic agencies in China will continue to work closely with China's local authorities to provide timely and regular updates on flood conditions in Chinese regions that impact Vietnamese localities. They will also coordinate and share information frequently with the Chinese side to promote measures to minimise the amount of upstream water from China flowing to downstream localities of Vietnam, thus minimising damage caused by floods in river basins in the northern region.
