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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)
| Type of Event: | Flood |
| Location of Event: | Laos People's Democratic Republic |
| Date of Charter Activation: | 2018-07-24 |
| Time of Charter Activation: | 14:31 |
| Time zone of Charter Activation: | UTC+02:00 |
| Charter Requestor: | UNITAR - UNOSAT on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP) and UNOOSA on behalf of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Department of Disaster Management and Climate of Laos |
| Activation ID: | 578 |
| Project Management: | UNITAR / UNOSAT |
Products
Satellite detected water extent as of 30 July 2018 over Samakkhixay District, Attapeu Province, Laos
Source: KOMPSAT-5
Acquired: 30/07/2018
Copyright: KOMPSAT-5 © KARI (2018)
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Satellite detected water extent as of 27 July 2018 over Sanamxay District, Attapeu Province, Laos
Source: TerraSAR-X
Acquired: 27/07/2018
Copyright: TerraSAR-X © DLR e. V. 2018, Distribution: Airbus DS Geo GmbH
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Potentially affected villages along Vang Ngao River and Xe Kong River, Laos
Download the full report
Download the full report
Source: Sentinel-1
Acquired: 25/07/2018 & 29/07/2018
Copyright: © Copernicus Sentinel data (2018)
Report produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Report produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Time series: Evolution satellite detected water extent over Sanamxay District, Laos
Source: Sentinel-1
Acquired: 13/07/2018, 25/07/2018 & 29/07/2018
Copyright: © Copernicus Sentinel data (2018)
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Time series: Evolution flood satellite detected waters, Laos
Source: Sentinel-1
Acquired: 13/07/2018, 25/07/2018 & 29/07/2018
Copyright: © Copernicus Sentinel data (2018)
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Map produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Source: Sentinel-1
Acquired: Pre-disaster: 13/07/2018
Post-disaster: 25/07/2018
Post-disaster: 25/07/2018
Copyright: Sentinel-1 © Copernicus Sentinel data (2018)
Report produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Report produced by UNITAR/UNOSAT
Flooding impact map of the dam collapse in Laos
Source: Sentinel-1
Acquired: 25/07/2018
Copyright: © Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018)
Map produced by ADPC
Map produced by ADPC
Flooding impact map of the dam collapse in Laos
Source: ALOS-2
Acquired: 25/07/2018
Copyright: © JAXA (2018)
Map produced by ADPC
Map produced by ADPC
Evolution satellite detected water extent over Sanamxay District, Attapeu Province, Lao People Democratic Republic
Source: RADARSAT-2
Acquired: Pre-Disaster: 10/07/2018
Post-Disaster: 24/07/2018
Post-Disaster: 24/07/2018
Copyright: RADARSAT-2 Data and Products © Maxar Technologies Ltd. (2018) - All Rights Reserved. RADARSAT is an official trademark of the Canadian Space Agency.
Map produced by UNITAR / UNOSAT
Map produced by UNITAR / UNOSAT
Satellite detected water extent over Sanamxay District, Attapeu Province, Lao People Democratic Republic
Source: RADARSAT-2
Acquired: 24/07/2018
Copyright: RADARSAT-2 Data and Products © Maxar Technologies Ltd. (2018) - All Rights Reserved. RADARSAT is an official trademark of the Canadian Space Agency.
Map produced by UNITAR / UNOSAT
Map produced by UNITAR / UNOSAT
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