Problems appear to have started soon after the reservoir was filled, and the paper reports multiple movement events, mostly with reasonably small displacements, that caused major damage to the penstock and associated pipelines.\u00a0 At one location it appears that a sinkhole has opened up, and there is also a reference to a new channel being formed.\u00a0 The paper notes that work was ongoing to try to solve the landslide problem; in the meantime a telescopic section of pipe was installed into the pipeline to try to accommodate movement.\u00a0 The paper includes the photograph below of the site.\u00a0 Note the re-engineered walls and structures.\u00a0 Note also the red-roofed powerhouse at the toe of the slope – this is a key structure in the most recent event:<\/p>\n
![\"Xekamen](\"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/files\/2017\/01\/17_01-Xekamen-1.jpg\")
The penstock site for the Xekaman 3 HEP station, via the ISRM<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n .<\/p>\n At 8:45 am on 16th December a major failure occurred on this slope, which has destroyed the penstock infrastructure.\u00a0 Radio Free Asia has a report<\/a> about the landslide, which states that:<\/p>\n A break in a critical waterway shut down a hydro-electric dam in southern Laos and raised questions about the quality of construction at the facility that sends most of the power it generates to Vietnam.\u00a0 While officials said the Dec. 16 break in the Xekaman 3 facility\u2019s penstock posed no threat to people living downstream, it marked the second breakdown in the tunnel that channels water to the power turbine, RFA\u2019s Lao Service has learned.<\/p>\n \u201cThe broken portion of the pipe is about 100 meters from the power house,\u201d said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity. \u201cRocks and mud flowed into the power house.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the official, the damage is extensive as the power house and its equipment were inundated.<\/p>\n \u201cThe dam is no longer operational,\u201d the official told RFA\u2019s Lao Service. \u201cPower production is stopped.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Perhaps the most interesting element though is a photograph of the site, also in the report:<\/p>\n The aftermath of the 16th December landslide at Xekaman 3, via Radio Free Asia<\/a>. Photograph by Kamphon<\/p><\/div>\n .<\/p>\n The almost completely buried building is the power house at the toe of the slope.\u00a0 This was clearly an exceptionally serious, and expensive, landslide.<\/p>\n![\"Xekaman](\"https:\/\/blogs.agu.org\/landslideblog\/files\/2017\/01\/17_01-Xekamen-2-e1484992664706.jpg\")