Property damaged by 'mud flood' from industrial cluster

Mud from Cam Le industrial cluster continuously flooded into people's houses during heavy rains, damaging the property of many households.

While the consequences of the flood a month ago have not yet been resolved, in recent days, residents of Group 5, Hoa Tho Tay Ward, Cam Le District, have continued to suffer from mud and soil from the Cam Le Industrial Park that has been carried down by rainwater.

"Whenever it rains heavily, it floods. People have to stay up all night to watch for water from the industrial park," said Tran Viet Phuc, 48, adding that sandbags are placed across the gate and a 40cm high brick wall in front of the porch to prevent floods from entering.

His wife works as a factory worker, and his children are fed up with the situation of "running away every time it rains and flooding", so the family moves in with a friend. Mr. Phuc has to quit his job to take care of the house. The family's three jars of rice on the porch are moldy, and many properties are damaged after the floods.

Mr. Phuc's living room furniture has to be placed with bricks underneath, but flood water still regularly floods in, causing mold. Photo: Nguyen Dong — Mr. Phuc's living room furniture has to be placed with bricks underneath, but flood water still regularly floods in, causing mold. Photo: *Nguyen Dong*

On the opposite side, the family of Mr. Tran Viet Mat, 60 years old, had four jars of rice damaged, along with a television, refrigerator, and washing machine. A few days ago, his daughter's laptop, which she had just bought for over 20 million VND and was left on a chair, was damaged by floodwaters that had entered the house, reaching nearly half a meter deep.

During the flood in mid-October, households said each family received a box of instant noodles and 10 kg of rice. The People's Committee of Cam Le District, the investor of the industrial park project, later informed that 16 households were affected by mud from the industrial park. The district and the contractor are calculating the support and will not use the budget. However, a month has passed and the people have not received any support.

The district explained that the reason why mud and soil flowed down to people's houses was because the embankment was newly completed, the ground structure was not stable, while the rainfall was sudden and the drainage infrastructure outside the industrial park was not completed.

Regarding measures to deal with mud and soil from the project overflowing into people's houses, the District People's Committee said it will build a drainage system for residential areas, reinforce the slope with a reinforced concrete frame, combine planting trees to isolate residential areas and plant grass to reduce erosion.

Mr. Mat's house built a 40cm high brick wall in front of the porch but still could not prevent flood water and mud from flowing in during the rain on October 13. Photo: Nguyen Dong — Mr. Mat's house built a 40cm high brick wall in front of the porch but still could not prevent flood water and mud from flowing in during the rain on October 13. Photo: *Nguyen Dong*

However, on November 15, the project was reported to be empty of workers despite the clear weather. The drainage system is under construction for a 5-meter section, with many items yet to be implemented.

"If there is construction, there will only be a few workers, and we don't know when it will be finished," said Mr. Tran Viet Phuc, worried that he will have to live with mud flooding into his house because heavy rain is forecast to last for many more days.

Cam Le Industrial Cluster Technical Infrastructure Project is on the list of key projects, approved by Da Nang City People's Council in December 2019, with a planning area of over 29 hectares and a total investment of 250 billion VND.

Up to now, the basic items have been completed but the project has not connected the western infrastructure with Nguyen Phu Huong Street according to the plan, leading to the industrial park having no entrance.

The drainage from residential area group 5 to Cau Do river is also not completed. Photo: Nguyen Dong — The drainage system from the residential area to the Cau Do River is not yet completed. Photo: *Nguyen Dong*

The Cam Le industrial cluster project was criticized by Da Nang Party Secretary Nguyen Van Quang during a site inspection in September, because the trees used to prevent erosion were eucalyptus saplings, only as tall as an adult's knee.

Mr. Quang also commented that the project's slope is dangerous, requiring the investor, consulting unit and Department of Construction to study and find suitable solutions to ensure safety for both the industrial park and surrounding residential areas.

Nguyen Dong

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