For over a month, the family of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ha (60 years old, village 4, Kim Lan commune, Gia Lam) has been living in fear because their spacious house could slide into the Red River at any time.
The landslide along the Red River in the early morning of August 11th brought down a pottery workshop of about 40 square meters, along with nearly 100 square meters of residential land where Mr. Ha's family was living.
The local authorities immediately moved Mr. Ha’s family to the village cultural house. The authorities also helped move the furniture in the house to another location.
More than a month later (September 13), another landslide occurred, making Mr. Ha's family even more worried. "Many trees in the garden, over 10 meters high, were swept away into the river. A few seconds later, the treetops were no longer visible," Mr. Ha said.
Having lived on this land for decades, this is the biggest landslide on the Red River bank he has ever witnessed.
"This area is very dangerous, there is a risk of another landslide at any time. At this rate, it is inevitable that houses along the river will be wiped out," said Mr. Ha.
For many years, Mr. Ha’s family has lived in a precarious situation. Every time the Red River rises, people living along the river like him are worried about losing their homes. However, having lived here for many generations, Mr. Ha has almost no idea where to go.
"We hope that the authorities will soon take measures to deal with the landslide so that our family can return home to stabilize their lives. If the handling takes many months, we hope to receive temporary housing support," said Mr. Ha.
According to the leader of Gia Lam District People's Committee, the banks of the Red River are mainly sandy soil with weak connections. Since the beginning of August, due to the impact of storms and rains, some cracks have appeared along the river banks in Kim Lan Commune.
After storm 3 Yagi, the Red River water rose to near level three alarm. When the water receded, it dragged along the soil and sand that had lost their connection, leading to landslides, sweeping away a number of buildings and people's land.
Authorities have evacuated nearly 20 people and their belongings to safety. The landslide area has been fenced off with corrugated iron and has warning signs warning people not to enter.
In the long term, the Gia Lam District People's Committee has proposed that the Hanoi People's Committee and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development speed up urgent projects to prevent landslides on river banks and beaches in the above areas.
Some images of the landslide area recorded by PV:
