By Doris Yoong
KUCHING, June 12, 2015 - At a Press Conference today,
Datuk Torstein Dale Syotveit explained "complex" issues concerning
the safety of dams in Sarawak , telling the public that what have been reported
on the social media and newspapers are "not factual".
He said there is so much being said in the media on the
concerns of dam safety in relation to the probability of earthquakes, such as
the recent incident that occurred in Sabah.
"SEB would like to address the issues in a very
specific and clear manner," Torstein told reporters, saying that the
public would not be confused with the streams of information coming at once.
The following are key points which Torstein highlighted
at the press conference on the issues on seismic activities and design criteria
and dam's proximity to active fault lines.
1. The planning for HEPs development in Sarawak is
designed with full consideration of the local seismic condition.
2. The region where we are developing hydropower projects
are 10 times lower in earthquake intensity compared to Sabah region (which is
the highest intensity within the Borneo
region).
3. For normal operations, our dams are designed to
operate normally during an earthquake equivalent to the recent one in Sabah
which is 10 times higher than what is expected in our hydropower region.
4. The integrity of the dam will not be impacted with an
earthquake intensity of 15 times higher
than the maximum expected earthquake in our hydropower region.
5. None of our hydropower projects are located on any
geological fault lines.
6. The nearest fault line to Baram dam site is around
30km from the dam site (west Baram fault line) which is also inactive.
Torstein said any potential earthquakes occurring in our
region will not jeopardize the integrity
of any of our existing or planned dams.
He said dam design has incorporated:
(1) Studies by the Department of Minerals and
Geoscience Malaysia
(a) The
Geological and Seismotectonic Information of Malaysia – 2006
(b) Assessment of the Seismic Threats to
Malaysia from Major Earthquakes in the SE Asian region – 2008
(2) Seismological Study for hazards assessment
done by Seismological Research Centre, Australia in 2009 to identify and
address deep seismic activity in the state.
"Results of the studies have been incorporated into
the assessment of location and HEP design in Sarawak," he said.
He said if Murum dam, if it is in Ranau, would be able to withstand the impact of the 5.9 magnitude earthquake.
"I will not order it to stop and the turbines will continue running. The dam will not collapse," he said.
He said out of over 57,000 mega dams built around the globe, only one at Santa Barbara, California, collapsed by an earthquake.
"That was in 1925, and by now, improved and new technologies would have been used in dam construction," he said.
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