3. - usaid

Wkong tributaries began to overflow. The rapidly rislng water brought the
Sedone River to flood stage by September 5. In Attopeu, the Se Kong and Se
Komon rivers rose almost without warning. In Savannakhet, the Houei
Camphon, a tributary of the Se Bang Hieng, began spilling over into the
adjacent paddy land, By late afternoon of September 6th, tihe towns of
Saravane and Attopeu were under water to a depth of from tvro to eight feet.
In the townof Attopeu where the water ran fast and turbulent, there was
heavy structural dainage to flooded buildings, Highway 13 flooded in
places fmm Khong Sedone to Souvannwli. By September 7,, considerable
floodhg had occurred in the Sedone Valley and the town of Khong Sedone
was partially inundated.
On September 7, a limited aerial reconnaissance was made which revealed the
crest of the flood in Saravane city had passed. Rural areas in the Sedone
Valley downriver from Saravane had, however, been hard hit and many small
farm houses were still under water. The flood waters in the towns of
Saravane and Attopeu receded almost as rapldly as they had risen. By
September 8, rivers had returned to their normal level for that time of
the year and the flood was over, During the course of the flood thousands
of people had been driven from their homes and were in needl of assistance.
ACTION TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF LAOS AND LOCAL ORGANIZAmnNS
Damage assessmerit and relief operations were conducted jointly by representatives
from the Laotian Ministry of Social Welfare, Lao military forces
in Region IV, and the USAID resident staff in Pakse.