114 houses cracked, nearly 280 water wells unusually dry in Nghe An's 'mineral capital'

Living in fear

In early May, following the locals, we arrived at the rice fields in Chau Hong commune (Quy Hop). Here, there are many warning signs warning people of danger, prohibiting people from approaching. Some fields even have to be fenced off to prevent accidents for children. These "death holes" come in all sizes, with an average depth of 2 to 3 meters. "That's my field. It's my field but I don't dare go near it, let alone cultivate it," said Mr. Vi Van Hanh (52 years old, Na Hieng village), pointing to the field that had been abandoned due to subsidence.

Warning sign in Chau Hong commune field. Photo: TH

Not only the fields are sinking, Chau Hong residents are living in fear and misery because hundreds of wells have suddenly dried up and their houses are cracked. This situation was reported by Nghe An Newspaper a year ago, but in recent months, the incident has become alarming. Meanwhile, although a series of inspection teams have been involved, the cause has not yet been explained to provide long-term solutions.

According to Mr. Truong Van Hoa - Chairman of Chau Hong Commune People's Committee, since January 2020, in villages such as Cong village and Na Hieng village, there have been cases of dry wells, subsidence in rice fields, along streams and creeks. In the face of such unusual phenomena, the Commune People's Committee has inspected the subsidence situation and promptly reported to the District People's Committee and relevant departments to investigate and find the cause. By early February 2022, subsidence not only occurred in rice fields, along streams and creeks, but more seriously, cracks in house walls, cracks in house floors, and subsidence in house foundations. Especially in Cong village, Poong village, Na Hieng village and Na Noong village.

A resident is trying to dig a well to find water but is helpless. Photo: TH

According to the report of Chau Hong commune, there are hundreds of households in danger. Up to now, 279 domestic water wells in Chau Hong commune have dried up. In particular, since the end of February, 114 houses have cracked, including: cracked walls, cracked floors, sunken house foundations, and garden land. The estimated damage is up to 57 billion VND.

Nearly 3 years ago, the family of Mrs. Sam Thi Nga (53 years old) spent a large sum of money to build a fairly spacious house in the middle of Na Hieng village. However, the joy of moving into the new house did not last long when mysterious cracks began to appear, turning the family's life upside down. Mrs. Nga said that, like many other houses, the cracks in her house appeared a few months ago. Initially, these cracks were quite small, but they grew larger over time. Currently, the cracks are more than 3cm wide, running along the floor. The cracks cause the tiles to peel off and crumble. "For the past few months, my family has been losing sleep because of worry. At first, we thought it was due to the construction, but then we saw that many houses in the village were like this, so it was definitely not the fault of the builders," said Mrs. Nga.

Cracks at Mrs. Nga's house. Photo: TH

Not only the residents, Chau Hong Kindergarten also faced a similar situation. Pointing to a crack nearly a hand's breadth wide, running along the school's wall, Principal Tran Thi Hoa said that about a month ago, while she and her students were sleeping, they were awakened by a cracking sound coming from the wall. Everyone was shocked. The brick floor was also peeled off. Since then, the crack has gotten bigger, making teachers and parents worried.

Regarding the hundreds of wells drying up, to cope, the people of Chau Hong commune had to spend a large amount of money to buy pipes to draw spring water from the mountains for use.

Cracks on the wall at the kindergarten. Photo: TH

Find the cause

According to local residents, the cause of this situation is due to mining companies in the area. Accordingly, to exploit the ore, these companies use high-capacity machines to suck water from underground, leading to the gradual depletion of underground water sources.

Inside a mining tunnel deep in the mountains in Chau Hong commune. Photo: TH

Sharing the same view, the leaders of Chau Hong commune also stated that the cause of the subsidence, cracks in houses and dry wells is due to mineral exploitation. "People here have lived here for a long time and this situation has never happened before, when there was no mineral exploitation," said Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune Truong Van Hoa.

Chau Hong Commune is considered the “mineral capital” of Quy Hop District, with a series of mines that have been operating for about 20 years. According to Mr. Hoa, there are currently 11 mineral mining enterprises in the commune. Including 5 ore mining enterprises and 7 stone mining enterprises.

“In particular, there are enterprises that mine underground ores in the form of underground mines. Most recently, when the scale of mining used more modern means and machinery, especially in the field of underground tin mining, such abnormalities appeared. What people are most concerned and worried about is that the incidents that have happened before have never happened before. But since the end of 2019, the above unusual phenomena have occurred, making people in the area worried and anxious. Therefore, the Commune People's Committee requests the District People's Committee and competent authorities to clarify the causes of the above phenomena so that people can feel secure in production and living," Mr. Hoa stated in the latest document sent to the District People's Committee.

A corner of Chau Hong commune seen from above. This is considered the "mineral capital" with a series of mines that have been exploited vigorously over the past 20 years. Photo: TH

From 2021 to now, the People's Committee of Chau Hong commune has sent 14 reports to the District People's Committee on subsidence, wall and floor cracks to direct and discuss solutions to overcome the above situation. On average, about every 1 month, this commune has a report due to more serious developments. To respond, the commune has also had to assign staff to monitor and grasp the area to promptly report on new developments, especially the issue of ensuring the safety of people's lives and property.

In the reports, Chau Hong commune requested the district People's Committee, the provincial People's Committee, specialized departments and agencies to promptly inspect and clarify the causes of subsidence and cracks in people's houses to reassure people's minds; ensure the safety of people's lives and property and overcome the incident so that people can feel secure in their lives. Support the locality in building a source of domestic water because people are currently suffering from a serious shortage of domestic water. At the same time, there is funding to support households whose houses are severely cracked and subsided.

A "death hole" in the middle of people's fields. Photo: TH

The tile floor is peeling off. Photo: TH

Mr. Tran Duc Loi - Vice Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee said that the district leaders are also very concerned about this situation. According to Mr. Loi, for nearly 2 years now, many delegations from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development have gone to Chau Hong commune to inspect. However, after that, the delegations could not come to a conclusion about the cause.

“They only stated that the groundwater was depleted, but they could not confirm whether it was due to mineral exploitation or not. Meanwhile, to find a solution, the cause must first be found. Therefore, the locality is having to sign a contract to hire the North Central Geological Federation to investigate and determine the cause,” said Mr. Loi, adding that as a temporary solution, the district has submitted a document to the provincial People's Committee and has now received approval for an investment policy of 5 billion VND to carry out a water supply project for the people.