Vientiane On Flood Alert – Newly Built Nakharath Market Stalls Submerged
Source: Vientiane Times / Drone by Jettana
Yesterday, provinces in at-risk areas were on the alert and monitoring the level of the Mekong, especially in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Pakxan district in Borikhamxay province, Thakhaek district in Khammuan province, and Pakxe in Champassak province.
According to the Meteorology and Hydrology Department, the level of the Mekong in Vientiane yesterday afternoon was 11.20 metres, while the warning level is 11.50 metres and the danger level is 12.50 metres.
The level of the Mekong reported yesterday morning in Pakxe was above the warning level of 11 metres and had risen to 11.70 metres, not far off the danger level of 12 metres.
Elsewhere, the authorities are warning people living near the Nam Ngum and Xebangfay rivers to move their belongings to higher ground and to pay close attention to weather forecasts and emergency announcements.
The Mekong River rose rapidly overnight on Saturday and Vientiane residents woke up to see the newly built Nakharath City shopping centre partially submerged.
The owners of the 300 stalls it contains were astonished to find that the river had claimed the site and hurriedly set about removing goods from their premises.
Some people said the river rose significantly in the early hours of Sunday morning and reached the shopping centre at about 6am.
The riverside road quickly filled with traffic as people rushed to the area to see the flooded site.
Shop owners were too busy to talk to reporters, but said they were grateful to the soldiers and local volunteers who turned out to help them.
Nakharath City, situated in Chao Anouvong Park in Chanthabouly district, officially opened to the public earlier this year.
Nakharath City (meaning Naga tourism city) was built in a contemporary Lao style and contains a series of small, covered, structures that provide a cool and pleasant environment for those wanting somewhere to eat, relax or do some shopping. It is open daily from 5pm-9:30pm. The site consists of more than 300 stalls selling consumer goods, Lao products, and Lao and overseas food.
After signing a land concession agreement in 2011, the Fujiwara Company began construction in January 2016 with the intention of turning an unused plot of land between the Mekong River and Chao Anouvong Park into a visitor attraction.
