Dam calamity a wake-up call for Mekong hazards
The recent case of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy dam collapse in Laos is a timely reminder that there are potential hazardous factors associated with the failure of storage dams. These include large mass movements into a reservoir close to the dam such as a sudden influx of water and/or huge falling rocks, design errors, poor construction, faulty operation of reservoirs, sabotage, terrorism, acts of war and seismic risks.
