After a prolonged flood in late October and early November, many items of the Hue Monuments Complex were flooded, landslides, and degraded. The Hue Monuments Conservation Center (Center) said that immediately after the water receded, the unit surveyed, made a preliminary assessment and reported to the Hue City People's Committee on the damage situation.
According to records, at 6:45 p.m. on November 2, a collapse of a section of the Imperial Citadel wall on Dang Thai Than Street occurred (about 15m long, 50m from Hoa Binh Gate). Immediately after the discovery, the Center has fenced off, covered and installed warning signs to ensure the safety of people, tourists and staff working in the area.
During the historic flood, most relic sites in Hue City were flooded. Specifically: Dai Noi area flooded about 0.3m; Minh Mang Tomb is flooded with a bridge yard of 1.4m; Gia Long and Thieu Tri Tombs are flooded about 1.5m; Tu Duc and Dong Khanh Tombs are flooded 1m; An Dinh Palace is flooded with a yard of 2m, Khai Tuong Lau interior is flooded 10cm.
Mr. Hoang Viet Trung - Director of the Center said that through a survey of the scene, many items in the Imperial Citadel and neighboring areas showed signs of deterioration and cracking after heavy rain. The unit has requested the People's Committee of Hue City to direct the Department of Construction to preside over and coordinate with the Department of Culture - Sports of Hue City and the Center to investigate, assess the cause of the incident and propose a handling plan, report to competent authorities.
The Center also recommends that the Department of Culture - Sports of Hue City coordinate to record, verify and report incidents affecting special national relics; and at the same time, advise on timely remedial measures.
Regarding the incident, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism requested the People's Committee of Hue City to direct competent agencies to inspect and review the current status of collapsed walls; at the same time, technically inspect items such as walls, tiled roofs, foundations, technical infrastructure of the Hue Monuments Complex and relics in the area to assess the level of damage serving the restoration and restoration work.
In the long term, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also recommends that Hue City develop a disaster risk management plan to proactively identify, prevent, respond and recover after natural disasters for the relic system.
The center has implemented immediate measures such as stretching warning ropes, barricading areas at risk of landslides and leakage; unblocking drainage systems at relic sites to ensure safety for people, civil servants and tourists. After the weather is stable, we will coordinate with relevant units to assess the overall status of the citadel walls, stone embankments of Ngoai Kim Thuy lake... to establish a restoration project, ensuring the sustainability of the relic," said Mr. Trung.
