Officials from Ratanakkiri and Vietnam met Friday to resolve problems created earlier this month when a hydroelectric dam in Vietnam was opened, killing at least four people in the subsequent water surge, the provincial governor said Monday.
The flood on the Se San River affected three districts in the northeast province, washing away boats and equipment.
“We asked the Vietnamese side to release water slowly, and they agreed,” said Ratanakkiri Governor Kham Khoeun.
Other impacts of the upriver dam are being investigated, he said, including a mysterious flooding in Ratanakkiri last year.
The National Mekong River Committee met with Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Duy Hung about the incident, saying no warning was given to Cambodia prior to the test opening of the Yali dam, said Sin Niny, vice chairman of the committee. The Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh has maintained that ample warning was given.
The commission also will meet with Vietnamese representatives later this month to discuss river issues, including the most recent flooding, Sin Niny said.
