Risk of safety from landslides during the rainy season

The risk of landslides in Block 1, Tan Ky town, Tan Ky district can occur at any time during the rainy and stormy season. Photo: Van Truong (taken on July 31, 2023)

Present at Block 1, Tan Ky town, Tan Ky district, we saw traces of the landslide that occurred in early October 2022. The entire landslide trail was about 300 meters long, lying vertically close to people's houses, with new landslides appearing above, causing trees to fall and uproot. Worryingly, along the landslide trail, there are currently many rocks hanging in the air that can roll down to people's houses at any time.

Business owner Hoang Lan in Block 1, Tan Ky town worriedly said: Right behind my house is a steep hill with long landslides, the house is located at the foot of the hill, waiting to collapse. Last year's rainy season, this area had a landslide, soil and rocks rolled down from the mountain and penetrated the wall of the house, luckily no one in my family was home at that time.

"It's just the beginning of the rainy season, but there have been small landslides, with rocks and soil falling close to houses. During rainy and windy nights, no one can sleep. We hope that relevant sectors will soon have a solution to handle landslides, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property," said the owner of this business establishment.

Observations at some other landslides in Tan Ky town area are also quite serious, some households use machines to handle the landslides themselves.

In some areas in Tan Ky district, people proactively use machines to level and prevent landslides. Photo: Van Truong

A representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Ky district said: Tan Ky district currently has 5 large and small landslides, of which 4 are at risk of landslides in Tan Ky town, communes: Ky Tan, Tan Hop, Tan Long. Of which, the landslide point in Tan Long commune has recently been built by the traffic management unit with a stone embankment, reinforced with steel, nearly 100 meters long, 4.3 meters high, and drainage ditches, surrounding the landslide area.

However, vehicles passing through this area still need to be vigilant during the rainy and stormy season, because there are still many large rocks hanging on the top of the mountain.

For old landslides in the area, Tan Ky district has only implemented a temporary solution of using machines to level the landslides. In the long term, it is necessary to build slopes and stone cages to prevent landslides and ensure people's safety.

Households in landslide area block 1, Tan Ky town, Tan Ky district need to be more vigilant during the rainy season. Photo: Van Truong

Tan Ky district is counting and reviewing households in areas affected by landslides, and from there, proactively implementing the evacuation of households during the storm season.

In addition, when floods come to Tan Ky district, there is also a great risk of landslides. That is, currently, due to the increasing price of acacia, some communes are massively harvesting and building roads to transport acacia, and during the rainy season, the acacia areas that have been cut down also pose a potential risk of landslides.

There are currently many landslides in Con Cuong district. In Thanh Nam village, Bong Khe commune, there was a landslide that occurred in September 2022, affecting 4 households, such as soil and rocks burying people's houses.

The hill area behind the houses is a cliff with a vertical roof, the slope has not been covered. The landslide and landslide risk is about 150m long. The scene shows that soil and gravel have flowed down from the top of the mountain right next to the houses since the rainy season last year, bringing with it bamboo bushes and broken meters lying on the hillside.

Some households in this area shared: From the end of October 2021 until now, during the rainy season, soil and rocks from the mountain have continuously collapsed. In the coming heavy rainy season, there is a high possibility that soil and rocks will roll down from the top of the mountain. We hope that local authorities and relevant sectors will soon take measures to handle this so that people can live in peace.

People live in fear at a landslide site in Thanh Nam village, Bong Khe commune, Con Cuong district. Photo: Van Truong

Discussing the above issue, Mr. Cao Tien Thinh - Vice Chairman of Bong Khe Commune People's Committee said: Bong Khe Commune has 2 landslides, 1 in Khe Ran village (affecting 2 households), 1 in Thanh Nam village (affecting 4 households), the above landslides affect people's lives and property. Due to financial difficulties in the commune, people have proactively hired machines to fix and level landslides. During the rainy season, the commune only knows how to mobilize people to move to a safe place.

As for the large landslide in Bung Xat village, Chau Khe commune, since October 2020, 17 households have been affected. The Provincial People's Committee has allowed Con Cuong district to establish a project to urgently relocate households in the disaster and landslide areas in Bung Xat village, with a total estimated investment of 20 billion VND. However, due to difficulties in capital sources, the resettlement area has not been built yet. The authorities have only temporarily handled the slide, hanging rocks, and repaired cracks around the village. During the rainy season, the risk of insecurity is very high.

The landslide caused bamboo bushes to fall and lie halfway up the mountain in Thanh Nam village, Bong Khe commune. Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Lo Van Ly - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Con Cuong district said: Con Cuong district currently has more than 10 landslides, mainly concentrated in the areas of Doc Cho, National Highway 7 in Lang Khe commune; Bung Xat village, Chau Khe commune; landslides in Don Phuc, Luc Da, Cam Lam, Thach Ngan communes... In which, if there is heavy rain, about 25 households need to be urgently evacuated. The cause of the landslides, in addition to floods, is that some households mainly renovate and dig foundations to build houses right at the foot of the mountain, with high slopes.

Faced with the above situation, right from the beginning of the flood season, Con Cuong district has implemented measures to minimize risks such as checking and reviewing households in landslide-affected areas, developing plans for natural disaster prevention and control, and plans to evacuate people in areas at risk of landslides.

Nghe An Irrigation Department recommends that localities with landslides regularly strengthen propaganda work, raise public awareness of the dangers of landslides; request people not to renovate or build houses at the foot of hills to prevent landslides.

In order to minimize damage, authorities at all levels, especially at the grassroots level, are always ready to act according to the "4 on-site" principle (on-site forces, on-site logistics, on-site means, on-site command) to protect people's lives and property. In particular, relevant sectors need to promptly support localities in landslide areas to conduct field surveys and funds to overcome landslides, as well as promptly build resettlement areas for households to urgently relocate to safety.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nguy-co-mat-an-toan-tu-nhung-diem-sat-lo-nui-vao-mua-mua-lu-post274035.html