As Lao Dong newspaper reported, on the night of August 23, rocks from the mountainside suddenly rolled down to Hop Tien village, Chi Lang commune, the affected area extended about 300 m.
Many large stone blocks rushed into the residential area, damaging the houses of Mr. Nong Van Cu, Hoang Viet Kieu, Nong Van Lai and Nguyen Van Hoe.
At that time, Mr. Hoang Viet Kieu's two-story house was pierced by a stone block, many items inside were heavily damaged. Two cars parked on the side of the road were also hit by stones.
According to people present at the scene, after a thunderous explosion, large amounts of stone rumbled down the residential area.
Mr. Hoang Viet Kieu (Hop Tien village, Chi Lang commune) said that due to concerns about the weather situation, the whole family has proactively moved to a safe place from the previous days.
Immediately after receiving the news that landslides caused damage to houses, I went back in the night to check.
When I got home, I saw the scene devastated and many people and functional forces were present to handle the incident," Mr. Kieu said.
Still not over the horror after the landslide, Mr. Nong Van Lai (65 years old, residing in Hop Tien village, Chi Lang commune) recalled that at about 11:30 pm on August 23, after the rain subsided, he was lying in his bedroom but could not close his eyes because he was worried that floodwater could come at any time.
At that time, Mr. Lai heard many loud explosions like thunder and lightning outside, but accompanied by the sound of fallen trees.
About 1 minute later, a rumbling sound came closer, immediately a huge rock rolling at high speed hit the house door and destroyed the living room.
At that time, I was in the bedroom, a stone of about 10 cubic meters broke the wall, causing the bedroom door to burst open, smoke and dust were everywhere, making me unable to see anything. Then I felt like I had just escaped the gate of death," Mr. Lai recounted.
Also according to Mr. Lai, because there was no way out, he climbed onto the roof and then went to the neighbors to escape.
After returning to check, all the furniture in the house such as tables, chairs, TVs, refrigerators were crushed by the stone block, and the motorbike parked in the yard was also completely damaged.
The incident only lasted for 1 minute but half of the house collapsed.
Living here for nearly 40 years, I have never seen such a terrible landslide. Fortunately, before that, my wife and children had moved to relatives' houses, leaving only me to look after the house," Mr. Lai said.
Previously, in an exchange with PV, leaders of Chi Lang Commune People's Committee said that after the incident occurred, the government relocated households living around the landslide area, cordoned off dangerous areas and arranged forces to be on duty at the scene.
The locality is continuing to review the surrounding area, not allowing people to return when safety is not guaranteed," the leader said.
According to a quick report from Lang Son province, as of 5 pm on August 23, natural disasters killed one person and affected 4,031 houses and auxiliary works.
Among them, 362 houses had their roofs blown off, fallen trees or landslides; 3,623 houses were flooded, and many properties were damaged.
