HOW WILL THE DAMS BEING BUILT ON THE MEKONG IN CHINA AFFECT LAOS? WON’T THEY CAUSE FLOODING TO OCCUR, LIKE IN AUGUST 2008?
Floods during 2008 in northern Lao PDR were more severe than normal. The water level reached on August 15 at Vientiane was the highest recorded since records began in 1913. At 13.7 m above the gauge, the Mekong River was one metre higher than the maximum levels recorded in 1966, 1971 and 2002. MRC research indicates that the flooding was caused by unusually high cyclonic rainfall. There is no evidence that the August 2008 floods were caused by Chinese or any other dams. The storage capacity of the projects already constructed last year was too small to have changed flow rates significantly at that time.
Related Questions
- The wind turbines are due to be built on the flood plain near the River Loddon, will this cause extra flooding to properties in the area?
- HOW WILL THE DAMS BEING BUILT ON THE MEKONG IN CHINA AFFECT LAOS? WON’T THEY CAUSE FLOODING TO OCCUR, LIKE IN AUGUST 2008?
- HOW DOES THE MRC FEEL ABOUT THE DAMS BEING BUILT ON THE UPPER MEKONG BY CHINA?
