Many unusual landslides appeared
Ms. Ho Thi Diep hurried back up the slope to Tak Chay village, hamlet 5, Tra Cang commune, Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam, to pick up the few remaining belongings and begin the reconstruction. Before her eyes, the entire peaceful Xo Dang village, which had been leaning against the mountain for many years, was now reduced to rubble and desolation. Houses and trees were lying scattered about. There was a long crack running along the ground right behind the kitchen. Standing on the old house's foundation, Ms. Diep recounted: "The heavy rain made people tremble, staying up all night, not daring to sleep. At around 2am, a landslide occurred. Luckily, we were able to evacuate in time."
On the night of September 18, after heavy rain that lasted for many days, the slope in front of Tak Chay village collapsed, forcing people to stay up all night in fear. In addition to the collapsed land, long cracks began to appear on the foundations of other houses in the village, forcing 33 households with 171 people to evacuate urgently that night, leaving behind all their life savings.
According to Quang Nam’s natural disaster prevention and control project, the whole province has up to 93 high-risk areas for landslides, with thousands of households living there, mainly in mountainous areas. However, Tak Chay village was not on the list of places that had to be evacuated due to the impact of floods, but in reality, it has shown the complex and unpredictable developments of natural disasters.
In Nam Tra My district alone, there are 39 residential areas (11,780 people) at risk of landslides. Up to now, 63 households/269 people affected by landslides have been urgently evacuated to safety.
“Through inspection and survey of the landslide sites and upstream, the district’s disaster prevention force has discovered many cracks and fractures. All people on the emergency evacuation list have been relocated to safe temporary housing. The locality is carrying out two tasks in parallel: ensuring people’s lives and property and implementing the construction of a new residential area as planned earlier,” said Mr. Tran Van Man, Vice Chairman of Nam Tra My District People’s Committee. However, the most difficult problem for the communes at present is that the rain is getting heavier, and new landslides have appeared, beyond the locality’s prediction.
Put people's safety first
In Nam Giang district, although the rain was not heavy, a large crack appeared on the hill behind village 56B in the border commune of Dac Pre, running along the hill, 1.5m to 5m deep and 123m long. Many sections showed signs of landslides, sinking deeper in layers, the cracks widened and soaked with water for many days, with the risk of the ground collapsing at any time. The entire village of 11 households/41 people at the foot of the hill had to be urgently evacuated.
Mr. Un Groanh, a Gie Trieng resident living in village 56B, said: “Everyone is very worried about the risk of landslides. We hope that the authorities at all levels will direct and pay attention so that people can soon have a place to eat and stay safely during this year's storm season.”
Directly inspecting the scene, Mr. Le Van Dung - Chairman of Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee - affirmed that if the heavy rain continues, the risk of landslides on the hill is very high, burying the whole village. The current situation is very dangerous, this residential area is no longer habitable.
Quang Nam leaders visited and gave gifts to encourage people to try to overcome difficulties and absolutely not return to their old villages at this time. At the same time, they directed Nam Giang district authorities to urgently search for a new, safe location to resettle people to a new place before the Lunar New Year this year.
It is expected that the total budget for resettlement for 11 households in village 56B will be more than 6 billion VND, each household will receive 115 million VND in support. This resettlement area is fully invested by the state in electricity, roads, schools, stations, etc.
Inspecting the landslide scene in Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam Provincial Party Secretary Luong Nguyen Minh Triet emphasized: “The safety of people's lives is paramount. No one will relocate people to a new place that is not as good as the old place and does not ensure safety, so people can rest assured. The army, police, militia, and youth forces need to provide the best support so that people in landslide areas can settle down soon. The district must monitor people's lives when they are relocated and temporarily housed, absolutely not letting people go hungry."
