Due to the impact of prolonged heavy rain from the night of July 16 to July 17, landslides and flash floods occurred in many highland areas in Son La province.
Natural disasters caused damage to houses, crops and traffic in Ngoc Chien, Muong La, Pac Nga, Chieng Hoa, Muong Chien communes.
Ngoc Chien commune devastated after floods
In Ngoc Chien commune, 32 houses were affected. Among them, 11 houses were silted up and collapsed over 70%; 13 houses had to be urgently relocated due to positive taluy landslides; 8 houses are located in areas at high risk of landslides.
Floods also damaged about 17 hectares of rice, corn, and cassava. About 1.5 tons of fish and 22 fish cages were swept away.
Provincial road 109 experienced 59 landslide points. Many irrigation, electricity and domestic water works were affected. Total estimated damage is about 10.5 billion VND.
Immediately after the natural disaster occurred, Ngoc Chien commune mobilized about 200 people including police, military, militia, mass organizations and people to participate in overcoming the consequences.
Forces focus on supporting people to relocate people and property to safe places.
Functional forces also cleaned up soil and rocks, cleared traffic and reviewed areas at risk of unsafety.
Mr. Lu Van Qui, Chairman of Ngoc Chien Commune People's Committee, said that immediately after the natural disaster, the commune mobilized forces to support people to overcome the consequences.
We prioritize relocating households in dangerous areas to safe places, and at the same time support people to move assets and stabilize their lives," Mr. Qui said.
In Long Cang village, a house was completely buried by soil and rocks. Fortunately, family members were moved in time, so there were no casualties.
On the morning of July 19, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Chang A Dang, Secretary of the Party Cell, Head of Long Cang village, said that floods caused a 200m long and 1m wide crack to appear on the mountaintop in Long Cang village.
Right in the evening of July 17, the locality evacuated 5 households affected by floods and 5 households located in landslide-prone areas to safe places.
By the evening of July 18, the village had been restored to power. Police, commune authorities and local forces have supported 3 families to move property and livestock out of the dangerous area. The forces are continuing to support the remaining 7 households to move to a safe place" - Mr. Dang said.
Urgently relocate people, overcome consequences
In Muong La commune, heavy rain caused 64 households to suffer housing damage. Among them, 17 households had to be urgently relocated. The flash flood also caused more than 178 hectares of crops to be flooded, buried and swept away.
Many traffic routes such as National Highway 279D, Provincial Road 109 and inter-commune and inter-village roads are landslides. This situation seriously affects people's travel.
In Muong Bu commune, 35 households had to be urgently relocated due to landslides. About 43.3 hectares of crops were damaged. Many village roads were also subsided.
Faced with the above situation, Son La Provincial Police and functional forces have mobilized maximum manpower, coordinated with local authorities to support people in responding to natural disasters.
Police, military, militia and grassroots security forces are deployed in key areas.
Locations at risk of landslides, flash floods and deep flooding are warned. Functional forces are also deployed to guard dangerous areas.
On July 18, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong - Vice Chairman of Son La Provincial People's Committee - inspected the reality and visited families affected by floods.
Provincial leaders requested localities to continue to closely monitor weather developments. Localities must review and prepare plans to relocate people from dangerous areas. Ensuring the safety of people's lives is put first.
Localities are required to mobilize forces and vehicles to urgently overcome the affected traffic routes.
Forces continue to handle landslide points, soon clear routes, ensure travel and gradually stabilize people's lives and production.
Currently, forces continue to be on duty 24/24 hours. Areas at risk of landslides and flash floods continue to be reviewed.
Local authorities are also preparing plans to support drinking water, food, medicine and essential necessities for people in affected areas.
