Proactively respond to landslides and flash floods in mountainous areas

The mountainous region of Quang Tri has a fairly large annual rainfall, while the population is distributed in almost all areas with high mountainous terrain and many rivers and streams. Therefore, this place often faces the risk of landslides, flash floods and landslides. To respond, mountainous districts in the province have been and continue to proactively develop effective prevention and control measures to minimize damage caused by natural disasters.

Every time it rains heavily, the La La spillway area on Highway 587 through Huc Commune, Huong Hoa District is deeply flooded, posing a danger to people - Photo: LT

Dozens of locations in mountainous areas are at risk of landslides and flash floods.

According to the results of the Project "Research on scientific basis for developing a set of criteria and identifying high-risk areas for landslides, mudslides, flash floods in mountainous and midland areas of Vietnam" conducted by the Institute of Geological Sciences and Mineralogy in 2021, in Quang Tri province, there are 27 communes at risk of landslides and flash floods, mainly concentrated in the two mountainous districts of Huong Hoa and Dakrong.

In Huong Hoa district, according to statistics from the authorities, in 2024, the whole district has about 45 locations with nearly 600 households/2,617 people in areas at risk of being affected by landslides. Of which, 19 areas at very high risk of landslides are distributed in villages of the communes: Huc, Huong Tan, Huong Viet, Ba Tang with a total of nearly 300 households/1,322 people affected.

Most of these areas are located in terrain that is strongly fragmented by river systems with steep slopes along the mountain slopes. Every year, these areas receive a large amount of rain and are concentrated at the same time, which can easily cause the mountain ranges to break and cause landslides. In some places, the slope is too steep, so when there is continuous rain and strong flow, there is a risk of flash floods with great destructive power.

According to records in Miet Cu village, Huong Linh commune, this area has many houses of ethnic minorities built on both sides of deep cliffs, surrounded by high hills. During the rainy season, this place often faces the risk of landslides and flash floods that can occur at any time. Living next to the West branch of Ho Chi Minh Highway, the family of Ms. Ho Thi Pun in Miet Cu village, Huong Linh commune built a house right on a newly leveled land, below is a stream, overlooking Rao Quan Hydropower Lake.

Every time it rains, Ms. Pun and many nearby households have to regularly check around their houses. “My fellow villagers and I are also very scared because the risk of landslides is always lurking. But what can we do? My family is in such a difficult situation. If we go elsewhere, we will not have land to build a house, so we have to accept living like this. Every time there is heavy rain for a long time, the local government supports us to move to schools, but we are also afraid of losing our house and land,” Ms. Pun worried.

Many houses were built along the West branch of Ho Chi Minh Highway in Huong Linh Commune, Huong Hoa District on land with high risk of landslides - Photo: LT

According to statistics from the Dakrong District Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue (PCTT&TKCN), in 2024, the entire district has 13 communes with 78 villages and hamlets located in high-risk areas for landslides and flash floods, causing nearly 1,500 households/6,504 people to be affected and forced to have an evacuation plan during the rainy and stormy season. In addition, in Dakrong District, there are 8 areas with over 250 households/1,044 people identified as living along areas at risk of riverbank landslides.

Urgent need to have a plan to ensure safety for people

To proactively prevent and promptly and effectively respond to the risks of landslides and flash floods, every year, mountainous localities always improve and enhance the capacity of the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue at district and commune levels; assign specific tasks to each member to ensure that they are appropriate to the practical situation.

Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control, Huong Hoa District, Hoang Dinh Binh, said that in order to be proactive in natural disaster prevention in general, the locality regularly pays attention to information, propaganda, warnings and guidance on disaster response measures to the people, especially in remote areas and ethnic minorities. The top priority is the early prevention of risky situations caused by natural disasters.

In particular, focus on developing plans to evacuate people from areas at risk of landslides and flash floods in mountainous areas; arrange safe accommodation when situations occur. In the long term, the locality has an urgent need to build 8 resettlement areas for people in areas at high risk of landslides and flash floods, however, so far due to potential, only 3 locations have been built.

Therefore, to ensure the safety of thousands of people living on mountain slopes and along rivers and streams with constant worries about the risk of landslides and flash floods during storms, the district recommends that competent authorities create conditions and mobilize resources to support localities to soon complete the construction of resettlement areas, in order to create safe living places for people.

Ra Ly Rao resettlement area, Huong Son commune, Huong Hoa district was built spaciously in a safe location to relocate households in areas at risk of landslides - Photo: LT

According to information from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE), in March 2024, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued a plan to assign the Vietnam Geological Survey to take the lead in carrying out the task of investigating, developing a data set, creating a status map, a risk zoning map, and a risk zoning map due to landslides and flash floods at a scale of 1:10,000 and larger for 150 high-risk areas for landslides and flash floods under the Government's Project "Early warning of landslides and flash floods in mountainous and midland areas of Vietnam". However, in the list of 150 areas planned for this research and assessment, there is no scope in Quang Tri province.

Therefore, to assess the priority level and provide a complete list of areas at risk of landslides and flash floods in the province, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has sent a proposal to the Provincial People's Committee requesting a written response to the Vietnam Geological Survey to consider adding some areas at high risk of landslides and flash floods to the above project.

From there, there is a basis for proposing in the coming time that the Vietnam Geological Survey implement programs, research topics, and apply science and technology to prevent and avoid landslides and flash floods in the province. At the same time, improve communication capacity, use early warning information to respond to dangerous forms such as landslides and flash floods during the rainy and stormy season.

Recently, during an inspection trip to prevent and combat storm No. 4 and floods in Huong Hoa district, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Duc Tien requested the locality to urgently coordinate with relevant departments, branches, and the Provincial Military Command to review in detail and specifically locations at risk of landslides and flash floods to develop immediate and long-term response plans.

In particular, it is necessary to pay special attention to implementing proactive response measures, preparing means and forces to evacuate people to ensure safety when situations arise; proactively preparing sufficient supplies of food, provisions, and necessities to be ready to provide enough for people in case of long-term natural disasters.

Le Truong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/chu-dong-ung-pho-sat-lo-dat-va-lu-quet-o-mien-nui-189503.htm