The unusual subsidence phenomenon occurring in Sao Lam village, Thanh Son commune, Ninh Binh province is causing many households to worry as cracks continue to appear on the ground, walls of houses and civil works.
According to a report by the Ninh Binh Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, subsidence suddenly appeared after prolonged heavy rains on June 5 and July 6, 2026.
Through actual inspection, functional agencies discovered 3 main subsidence locations in the garden land area, traffic roads and behind people's houses.
Among them, 2 subsidence holes have been filled, each hole has a diameter of about 1-2m, depth from 1-1.5m. However, in the garden land area, there is still a subsidence hole with a mouth about 2.5-3m wide, depth from 1.5-2m.
At the bottom of the pit, a cavity subsidence in the form of a frog's mouth appeared. Through monitoring, specialized agencies found that this location continued to subside further.
Subsidence also caused a section of fence near the traffic road to collapse. Walls, yards and foundations of some neighboring households have cracks and tend to spread.
Living next to the subsidence area, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Luy and Mrs. Dinh Thi Nhan's family are still worried as cracks are increasingly visible on the walls and foundations.
According to Mr. Luy, after the first subsidence hole appeared, people poured many trucks of soil down to fill it. However, in a short time, the cracks continued to spread to the walls, yard and floor.
Initially, the cracks on the walls and floor were very small, but today they have cracked wide and spread. My house has 6 people, we are very worried if the subsidence holes continue to spread, affecting the entire area" - Mr. Luy said.
People hope that specialized agencies will soon have equipment to survey and assess the geological structure underground to determine the level of danger, thereby having timely handling plans.
Not only Mr. Luy's family, some surrounding households were also affected. Some households had to use concrete and cement to reinforce the house foundation after cracks appeared.
Mr. Dinh Van Hai - Head of Sao Lam village said that the subsidence phenomenon directly affects 5 households and 6 households adjacent to the incident area.
The village management board has mobilized people to pour gravel to temporarily fill subsidence holes on traffic roads, and at the same time installed warning signs and reminded people not to approach dangerous areas.
Talking to a reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Bui Xuan Dieu - Deputy Director of Ninh Binh Department of Agriculture and Environment said that immediately after the abnormal subsidence phenomenon occurred in Sao Lam village area, the Department coordinated with relevant units to conduct actual inspections at the scene.
Specialized agencies believe that the subsidence phenomenon occurred after heavy rains, but it is temporarily impossible to determine the exact cause.
Initial assessments suggest that the incident may be related to the geological structure of the underground karst cave area, sudden changes in groundwater levels, or underground erosion sweeping away the fine soil layer in the shallow layer.
To determine the cause, it is necessary to conduct a detailed survey by a unit with in-depth expertise in hydrogeology and engineering geology" - Mr. Dieu said.
Also according to Mr. Dieu, the subsidence phenomenon is at risk of continuing to spread, directly threatening the lives and property of people. Ninh Binh Department of Agriculture and Environment has requested the Provincial People's Committee to direct Thanh Son Commune People's Committee to continue to closely monitor the diễn biến of the subsidence phenomenon. At the same time, expand the scope of barriers, install warning signs and prohibit trucks from entering the affected road section.
The locality must also review the list of households with houses and works affected; prepare forces, vehicles and locations to relocate people and property when there are bad developments.
The Department of Agriculture and Environment proposed that the Provincial People's Committee allow the Thanh Son Commune People's Committee to hire a specialized unit with sufficient capacity to survey and assess the causes of subsidence, and at the same time propose solutions and handling costs.
