一场致命的洪水和一股对老挝水电开发雄心的批评洪流

Raging waters
湍急的水流

A dam disaster in Laos
老挝大坝坍塌致重大灾难

A deadly flood and a torrent of criticism of Laos’s hydroelectric ambitions
一场致命的洪水和一股对老挝水电开发雄心的批评洪流

ON THE evening of July 23rd villagers along the Xe Pian river in southern Laos heard the roar of surging water. A dam 5km upstream had collapsed. The torrent inundated six villages. Homes were swept away, and around 7,000 people displaced. At least 20 are known to have died. Rescue attempts are being hampered by poor phone signals and heavy rains.
据英国《经济学人》网站7月26日的消息：7月23日晚，老挝南部Xe Pian河沿岸的村民听到了汹涌水流的咆哮声。上游5公里处的一座大坝发生坍塌。洪水淹没了6座村庄，冲走了许多房屋，造成近7000人流离失所，至少20人确认遇难。救援工作因信号不好和暴雨而受阻。

The dam was under construction when it burst. Fractures were discovered the day before, according to SK Engineering & Construction, a South Korean firm in the $1.2bn hydroelectric venture of which the dam forms a part. Rain had hindered attempts to fix the damage.
这座水电站大坝在坍塌时尚处于正在建设的阶段。韩国SK工程建设公司负责此项耗资12亿美元的水电工程中的部分项目。该公司表示，溃坝前一天，大坝已被发现存有裂缝的问题，但暴雨导致修复工作无法进展。

The disaster highlights Laos’s big bet on hydroelectric power. The communist country is landlocked and cash-strapped. Its solution is to build lots of dams along the Mekong river and its tributaries, with Thai and Chinese backing, and to sell the electricity to neighbours. Last year Laos had 47 projects. It plans to have 100 by 2020. Laos wants to become the “battery of Asia”. In 2017 electricity accounted for 23% of its exports, up from 12% in 2010.
这场灾难凸显了老挝在水力发电方面的巨大赌注。老挝人民民主共和国是个资金短缺的内陆国。在泰国和中国的支持下，老挝采取的应对举措是在湄公河及其支流上筑坝，向领国出售电力。去年，老挝有47个水电工程项目，计划在2020年达到100个。老挝希望成为“亚洲的供电站”。2017年，老挝电力出口额占该国出口总额的23％，较2010年高出12％。

The strategy has costs. The dams turn a free-flowing river into a chain of reservoirs, says Maureen Harris of International Rivers, an NGO. That makes it hard for migratory fish to breed, especially the giant catfish and the giant pangasius, two of the Mekong’s largest freshwater species. The river also carries nutrient-rich sediments to rice farmers downstream in the Mekong delta in Vietnam. A recent study by the Mekong River Commission estimated that if Laos achieves its dam-building target, the amount of sediment that reaches the delta will fall to only two-thirds of its level in 2007.
这个策略有代价的。非政府组织国际河流（International Rivers）的莫林•哈里斯(Maureen Harris)表示，这些大坝将一条自由流动的河流变成一连串的水库，致使洄游鱼类难以繁殖，尤其是湄公河两大淡水物种巨型鲶鱼（giant catfish）和成吉思汗鲨（Giant pangasius）。这条河流还为越南湄公河三角洲下游的水稻种植户提供了营养丰富的沉积物。湄公河委员会最近的一项研究估计，如果老挝实现其筑坝目标，到达三角洲的泥沙量将仅下降到2007年水平的2/3。

Now, to the list of concerns, add the safety of locals. This week’s flood is not the first to be caused by such a collapse. In September a dam in Xiangkhouang in the north broke. Happily, no one died then. But if the country’s hydroelectric ambitions make flooding worse, then calls to power down the battery of Asia will grow louder.
现在，增强当地人的安全上升为外界种种担忧之首。在老挝，此类水电站坍塌事故并非首次发生。9月，老挝北部川圹（Xiangkhouang）省的一座大坝发生坍塌，幸运的是无人在事故中丧生。但是，如果这个国家开发水电的雄心致使洪流泛滥得更加严重的话，那么要求关闭“亚洲供电站”的呼声将会日渐高涨。

https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/07/26/a-dam-disaster-in-laos

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