Proactively prevent landslides

Landslides are a dangerous type of natural disaster that occurs very quickly and unexpectedly, often causing serious damage to people and property, affecting production and people's lives. In the face of increasingly complex and unpredictable climate changes, the province pays special attention to landslide prevention and control to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

Vinh Phuc proactively prevents landslides to limit unfortunate damage. (Photo: Urgently overcome landslides on National Highway 2B, the road to Tam Dao town)

Unforeseeable danger

In recent years, landslides have become a nightmare for people across the country every time the rainy season comes. This year alone, in the past few days, landslides and subsidence have occurred consecutively in localities across the country, causing heavy losses in human lives and property.

At noon on July 30, at Bao Loc Pass, Lam Dong Province, a landslide occurred on the slope of the positive slope at Km103+100. The landslide buried a traffic police station in the middle of Bao Loc Pass, buried 4 people (including 3 police officers and 1 civilian), damaged 3 cars; completely cut off traffic through Bao Loc Pass.

On the morning of August 4, a car with license plate 26A-052.81 driven by Mr. LHH, residing in Son La city, Son La province, was on National Highway 6. At Km128+750 (in Tong Dau commune, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province), it encountered a landslide, a large rock weighing several tons rolled down from above and hit the car. At the scene, the front of the car was crushed by the rock, the rear window was broken and the car was pushed close to the guardrail along the roadside. Mr. L. and 3 other people in the car were fortunately not injured.

Also on August 4, heavy rain caused serious landslides in Minh Phu commune, Soc Son district, Hanoi city, burying many cars in mud and soil, causing considerable damage.

Most recently, on the afternoon of August 5, in the communes of Khao Mang, Lao Chai, Ho Bon, Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province (bordering Than Uyen district, Lai Chau province), there was heavy and very heavy rain, flash floods, and serious landslides on the slopes. The natural disaster caused traffic jams on National Highway 32. By 10 a.m. on August 6, vehicles could not pass, even on foot. According to initial information, heavy rain caused landslides and rocks to roll into houses, killing two young children of a H'Mong family in Khao Mang commune and burying many other properties.

In Vinh Phuc, on May 25, 2022, while people were cleaning up and overcoming the effects of heavy rain, a landslide suddenly occurred, causing a house to collapse in the mountainous area of Kim Long commune, Tam Duong district, killing 3 people and injuring 1 person.

Also in 2022, under the influence of a rainstorm with a measured rainfall of up to 194 mm plus previous rains a few days earlier, on the morning of August 26, on National Highway 2B, the road to Tam Dao town, about 15 large and small landslides appeared. Of which, the most serious was the landslide at Km20 with a volume of about 300 m3 of rock and soil sliding down from the mountain along with fallen trees, paralyzing traffic on both the road up and down to town.

Most recently, on June 28, 2023, a landslide occurred on the right bank of Pho Day River, Son Dong Commune, Lap Thach District; in which, newly built embankment items in the Mau Temple area belonging to the project to handle landslides on Pho Day River in the Mau Temple area and Phu Binh II pumping station collapsed and were seriously damaged, cracks appeared in the temple yard and are tending to grow wider.

The statistics have partly confirmed that landslides are a serious problem that people have been facing in recent times. At the same time, it requires more attention to landslide prevention, especially when the rainy season comes.

Proactive response

Faced with unusual weather developments, in order to proactively respond to natural disasters during the rainy and stormy season and minimize damage to people and property caused by landslides, the Provincial People's Committee has just sent an official dispatch to relevant units on proactively preventing and combating landslides, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property during the rainy and flood season.

Accordingly, Official Dispatch No. 5534/UBND-NN of the Provincial People's Committee has the following content: Implementing the direction of the Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 607/CD-TTg on proactively preventing and combating landslides, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property before and during the rainy and flood season, the People's Committee of Vinh Phuc province requests departments, branches, sectors, People's Committees of districts and cities to proactively deploy the work of preventing and combating natural disasters in general and landslides in particular, in order to ensure the safety of lives, limit damage to property for people and infrastructure.

In particular, units are required to strictly implement Official Dispatch 607/CD-TTg of the Prime Minister and Directive No. 07/CT-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee on strengthening natural disaster and search and rescue work, ensuring the safety of irrigation works and dykes in 2023.

Organize inspections and reviews of residential areas, schools, medical facilities, agency headquarters, barracks along rivers, streams, canals, and steep slopes to promptly detect areas at risk of landslides during heavy rains; resolutely organize relocation or have proactive plans to prevent landslides and evacuate in bad situations to limit damage to people, property, and infrastructure.

The Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control closely monitors the situation of natural disasters and landslides, proactively directs, inspects, and urges departments, branches, and localities to deploy prevention, control, and overcoming of consequences, and limiting damage caused by natural disasters and landslides.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinates with relevant units to advise on measures to prevent landslides and implement the Project on preventing landslides on riverbanks and coasts until 2030 approved by the Prime Minister. Direct and inspect the work of ensuring natural disaster prevention at construction sites under its management, especially construction works in residential areas along rivers, streams, and slopes.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment advises the Provincial People's Committee to strictly manage and strengthen inspection and supervision of licensing and exploitation of soil, rock, sand and gravel on rivers and streams to limit landslides; strictly handle cases of illegal exploitation of soil, rock, sand and gravel, and illegal gathering of construction materials in accordance with the law.

The Department of Construction, the Department of Transport, and the People's Committees of districts and cities, based on their assigned functions and tasks, shall direct the inspection of safety assurance work at construction sites, especially construction works in residential areas along rivers, streams, and slopes; suspend construction works if they are not safe or pose a risk of causing landslides, affecting the flow of water and flood drainage.

The provincial police have increased patrols, detected and strictly handled cases of illegal exploitation of soil, rock, sand and gravel on rivers and streams in accordance with the law. The media agencies have coordinated with the Standing Office of the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the Provincial Hydrometeorological Station, to increase the dissemination of laws on natural disaster prevention and control, landslides, and provide people with skills to respond to landslides, etc.

The instructions are very specific. The important thing is that agencies, units and localities need to implement them fully, seriously and responsibly. Only then can we limit unfortunate incidents, thereby contributing to ensuring the safety of people's lives and property.

Article and photos: Thieu Vu

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