Flood in Laos

Monsoon rain caused a hydroelectric dam to collapse in Laos on 23 July. Flood waters inundated six villages in Attapeu province and left more than 6000 homeless and hundreds unaccounted for.

The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam in the southern-most part of the country was under construction at the time of the disaster and was expected to be finished next year. It has been reported that the collapse of the dam - specifically a subsidiary dam called "Saddle Dam D" - released 5 billion cubic metres of water which destroyed hundreds of homes in the province and has already claimed several lives.

Affected residents are being evacuated to emergency shelters.

Related News and Resources

• Floods in Laos - Reports and Infographics (reliefweb)
• Impact Report for Floods in Laos (GDACS)
• Flash Floods and Dam Emergency: Daily Map of 25 July (ERCC)
• BBC reports on Flooding in Laos (BBC)
• Laos dam collapse: View of flooded villages – Video (Guardian)
• Sentinel-1 maps flash floods in Laos (ESA)
• Xe-Namnoy lake dam failure (CESBIO)
• Live Map: Floods in Laos (UNOSAT)
• JRC analysis assists response to Laos dam collapse (EU Science Hub)