The July 23 collapse of one of the saddle dams of the 410-megawatt Xe-Pian-Xe-Namnoy hydropower complex, situated on the mountaintop in the southeast section of Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos, demands a full clear answer as to what actually happened.
As in-depth investigation, led by the Lao government and possibly other parties involved, is perhaps already or may soon be under way, one aspect of the issue worth being looked upon in greater detail is rainfall.
Available satellite rainfall data can help establish whether the dam breach was caused by heavy rain, as claimed by the project's developers, or human factors. I have analysed such data and found the heavy rainfall last month was predictable and close attention should be paid to the human factor.
