Cracks appear at the landfill threatening residential areas
From the yard, Mr. Ha Ngoc Quy (village 6, Trai Cau commune (Thai Nguyen) pointed to the edge of the waste dump behind the house, where deep cracks are spreading. He said that the cracks appeared after the heavy rain in early October, and at first, they had spread, sometimes rang out the sound of cracked soil, making households living at the foot of the iron mine insecure.
His family has lived in this land for decades, and when he discovered unusual signs, he reported it to the local authorities. For many days now, adults in the house have been taking turns on duty to observe and guard against risks. The biggest concern is that if there is prolonged heavy rain and incidents, a large amount of rock and soil can slide down, burying the entire row of houses below.
Not only Mr. Quy's family, many other households are also living in a similar situation, sharing the same insecurity. Some households said that the land behind the house had a small crack. Many families have prepared travel plans when there are emergency warnings because they are afraid that the land above could slide down to residential areas.
According to the reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper in mid-October 2025, at the scene, the cracks extended from the top of the landfill to near the residential area, about 200m long, with cracks expanding in some places and subsidence of rocks and soil. Some points have slid, creating large holes, revealing loose layers of rock and soil, at the foot of the landfill is a residential area with households living close together.
The vegetation on the sparsely populated waste dump, mainly wild grass and shallow roots, is not enough to hold the soil, so when the heavy rain continues, the water penetrates deep into the cracks, increasing the weight of the soil, reducing the friction, and pushing the risk of landslides.
Emergency evacuation
Faced with the risk of landslides, the authorities of Trai Cau commune inspected the scene and deployed response measures. According to Mr. Hoang Manh Hung - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, prolonged heavy rain caused cracks and water to overflow the surface of the Trai Cau Iron mine waste dump, posing a high risk of landslides.
The inspection results at the 49th floor landfill recorded 2 locations where water overflowed the manhole and many large cracks spread quickly. The People's Committee of the commune has issued an urgent evacuation notice, requiring households in the danger zone to evacuate people and property from the area to ensure absolute safety. In addition, the police, militia and commune officials have supported people in evacuation and arranged safe temporary housing areas.
People hope that the authorities will soon survey and re-evaluate the entire landfill area, clearly identify the risk, take measures to drain water and reinforce the slope. "We just hope to have a safe place to live, to work with peace of mind, not to live but to worry and worry every day," said a resident.
According to the people of village 6, relocation is only a temporary solution at the moment. If the waste dump area is not thoroughly treated, the risk of landslides will always hanging, if an incident occurs, the entire residential area at the foot of the mine can be buried, so they are looking forward to a sustainable solution for long-term safety and settlement.
