(VientianeTimes) The Meteorology and Hydrology Department warned people living below part of the Nam Ngum I Hydropower Plant to move their possessions and livestock to higher ground as the plant released more water on Saturday.

The heavy rain in central parts of Laos last week caused the plant's water level to reach a dangerous height.

The danger level is 212.30m but the water level of the river that feeds the power plant reached 213.31m yesterday.

To ensure the safety of the dam, plant managers decided to release 2.4m of water, the department's Weather Forecasting and Aeronautical Division Deputy Head Mr Vandy Douangmala told Vientiane Times yesterday.

The water level on the lower part of the Nam Ngum River rose quickly after the plant released the water.

People and some crops in low-lying areas may be impacted by flooding, especially Thoulakhom and Viengkham districts in Vientiane province and Xaythany and Pakngum districts in Vientiane, he said.

He predicted that the water levels would drop again in the next few days.

The Meteorology and Hydrology Department is proposing to the power plant management committee that they only release 2m of water at a time to avoid flooding, Mr Vandy said.

According to a report from the hydrology sector, the last time the Nam Ngum I Hydropower Plant released water was in 2008 when the river's level reached dangerous levels. In 1996, the plant took similar action for safety reasons, he explained.

Hydropower is the main source of electricity in Laos and a vital source of export earnings.

By 2004, the export of hydropower-generated electricity accounted for 30 percent of the total export earnings of the country.

The government has adopted at two-pronged power sector development strategy that aims to increase access to electricity for the country's largely rural population and earn foreign exchange from the export of electricity.