Prolonged heavy rain caused widespread landslides in highland communes of Lao Cai province, causing many houses to be damaged, and many traffic routes to be cut off.
By July 18, Mu Cang Chai commune recorded 17 affected houses, of which 5 were heavily damaged, and 26 households located in areas at high risk of landslides had to be relocated to safe places.
Floods also caused National Highway 32 to have many landslide points with about 180m3 of soil and rock spilling onto the road surface.
The inter-commune and inter-village roads to Kim Noi village experienced 3 positive taluy landslides with more than 420m3 of soil and rock, causing traffic congestion. The Mua Cho Giang irrigation project was landslide about 5m of the canal, affecting water supply for production.
Immediately after receiving the information, the Lao Cai Provincial Military Command mobilized 50 officers and soldiers of Regiment 121 to march nearly 200km to Mu Cang Chai commune to coordinate with local authorities and forces to participate in overcoming the consequences of the natural disaster.
In conditions where many roads are divided, mud and soil are deeply flooded, and the weather is still complicated, officers and soldiers are urgently clearing soil and rocks, fallen trees, and clearing the flow.
At the same time, supporting the relocation of assets, helping households soon stabilize their lives and ensure traffic to isolated villages and hamlets.
Not only Mu Cang Chai, heavy rain also caused damage in Lao Chai, Khao Mang and Che Tao communes. Widespread landslides damaged many infrastructure works, divided many roads and caused serious incidents to the power system.
In the afternoon of July 17, in Trong La village (Khao Mang commune), heavy rain knocked down medium voltage power pole No. 26 on line 376E29. 2, causing 88 transformer stations to lose power, affecting more than 9,300 customers in the area managed by Nghia Lo Power Company.
In addition, 6 low-voltage power poles in Lao Chai, Kim Noi, Che Tao and Pung Luong communes were also broken and fallen.
Immediately after the incident, Nghia Lo Power Company mobilized maximum manpower, vehicles and materials, and spent the night approaching the scene to fix the situation and quickly restore power to the people.
According to the Lao Cai Department of Construction, at the end of July 18, the whole province recorded 11 traffic congestion points due to landslides, of which 8 points have been repaired and opened to traffic, and 3 points are still being handled.
The points that have not been cleared are mainly on National Highway 279 and National Highway 32. Notably, at Km139+300 National Highway 279 (Minh Luong commune), landslides have eroded the road surface, damaged drainage culverts, and the time of opening to traffic has not yet been determined.
On National Highway 32, two landslide points in Khao Mang commune are still being handled by machinery because the rain continues to cause soil and rocks to spill onto the road surface.
Preliminary statistics show that rain and floods have caused nearly 6,000m3 of soil and rock to collapse, causing damage to traffic infrastructure. Currently, road management units are continuing to mobilize machinery and manpower to clear soil and rock, install warning signs and organize traffic diversion to ensure safety for people and vehicles.
