Landslides threaten Thua Thien-Hue households

More than 500 households living along the banks of the Bo River in central Thua Thien-Hue have been threatened by serious landslides. Photo nhandan.com.vn

A severe landslide suddenly occurred on the banks of the Bo River in Huong Xuan Ward’s Thanh Luong Village last Friday, sweeping away large bamboo plants and tens of cubic metres of land.

The slide mass was nearly 50 metres long and about 5 metres wide.

Local authorities have installed warning signs in the area.

Nguyen Cong, head of residential area number eight in Thanh Luong Village, said there were three landslide hot spots in the village.

A landslide measuring more than 20 metres occurred right in front of Thanh Luong Kindergarten last year.

Landslides also threaten the main road of the village. Local residents are very worried about the situation.

“I’m afraid the situation will worsen quickly. Landslides will sweep away our houses and gardens if we don’t build a dyke along the riverbank,” Cong said.

Cong said illegal sand exploitation on the river contributed to the landslides.

In the past two years, local residents and local authorities have strengthened inspection of, and reporting on, illegal sand exploitation cases to avoid landslides. But the danger still persists during rainy seasons.

Residents reported the situation and asked authorised agencies to invest in a dyke system along the riverbank passing through the village but had not received replies, Cong said.

Ngo Quang Thao, chairman of Huong Xuan Ward’s People’s Committee, said the committee proposed that authorised agencies assure the safety of people along the key road of Thanh Luong Village and the safety of more than 500 households living along the riverbank.

Nguyen Van Cong, deputy head of Office of Finance and Planning under the People’s Committee of Huong Tra Town, said the committee had mobilised people to put bags of sand on the riverbank to minimise danger.

The committee also plans to survey high risk zones and require households in danger to move promptly to other places which are safer.

Phan Thanh Hung, an official of the provincial Steering Committee of Flooding and Storm Prevention and Control, said the committee has asked the provincial People’s Committee to allocate money from the State budget to build a temporary dyke of bags of sand and stones along 150 metres of riverbank as a stopgap measure during the current storm season.

The Flooding and Storm committee would work with the provincial committee to set up plans to build a 1-kilometre dyke protecting the landslide-prone spots to assure the safety of residents, Hung said.