Helplessly watching their newly renovated house collapse due to a landslide.
The recent heavy rains and floods have caused severe damage to many households in the mountainous districts of Nghe An province. In particular, some families who had just built their homes with money and materials saved over many years have had their houses buried under mud and rocks.
The house was ruined just 6 days after the grand opening.
For the past three days, the family of Mr. Lo Van Mao (38 years old, Xieng Huong village, Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district) has been staying at a relative's house after their newly built house collapsed. Mr. Mao is one of the households that suffered the most severe damage.The heavy rains and floods caused landslides.In Tuong Duong district, Mr. Mao said sorrowfully, "We just had a housewarming party last week, and we had only been living in our new house for six days when it collapsed. Our two children, who work far away, didn't even have time to come home to celebrate the new house with their parents."
Mr. Mao's family used to live in a dilapidated wooden house that frequently leaked whenever it rained. Over the years, Mr. Mao traveled to various provinces working as a construction worker, diligently saving money to build a sturdy house. To support their father, Mr. Mao's two eldest children, only 16 and 18 years old, recently dropped out of school to go to the northern provinces to find work in factories.
"Seeing that my children were already working as laborers, I decided to take a risk at the beginning of the year and borrow over 600 million VND to build a house. I thought that if the three of us worked diligently, we would pay off the debt in a few years, but unexpectedly, the house was buried alive shortly after it was completed."
Mr. Lo Van Mao (38 years old, Xieng Huong village, Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district)
Reportedly, the total cost of building this house was nearly 1 billion VND. On September 15th, Mr. Mao's family held a housewarming party to celebrate their new home, after many months of construction. As for the old wooden house, he dismantled it, but there was only enough left to buy a new bed.
By the afternoon of September 21st, after several days of continuous heavy rain, rocks and soil from the mountain behind his house began to show signs of sliding down. Mr. Mao immediately sought help from the local authorities and his neighbors. “The Xa Luong commune then mobilized officials and militia to evacuate the belongings inside the house. Not long after, hundreds of cubic meters of earth and rocks poured down, gradually burying the house. Luckily, the landslide happened in the afternoon; if it had happened at night while the whole family was sleeping, we probably wouldn't have been able to escape in time,” Mr. Mao added.
At the scene, the back walls of Mr. Mao's house had been torn apart by the pressure of the rocks and soil falling from the mountain. Pieces of concrete and steel lay scattered everywhere. Earth and rocks flooded into the house, reaching a height of over 2 meters. The structure of the house was almost completely destroyed and beyond repair.
"Now I'm drowning in debt, and my old house has been dismantled just to get a bed. I don't know what I'll do next. I just hope to receive some support."
Mr. Lo Van Mao (38 years old, Xieng Huong village, Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district)
Fleeing due to landslides.
Like Mr. Mao, for more than a week, the entire family of six of Mr. La Van Chien (47 years old, Xieng Thu village, Chieu Luu commune, Ky Son district) has also been staying at a neighbor's house. Mr. Chien's house has completely collapsed, buried under several meters of earth and rocks. "I only built this house less than 9 months ago. I don't know where we will live in the future," Mr. Chien said helplessly. This is the household that suffered the most damage from the recent floods in Ky Son district.
Mr. and Mrs. Chien work in the fields year-round and are a poor household in the commune. After many years living in a dilapidated wooden house, at the end of 2023, Mr. Chien borrowed money from relatives and combined it with his long-term savings to build a sturdy house, at a total cost of over 400 million VND.
Mr. Chien's house was built against the side of a mountain range that had never experienced landslides before. However, by late afternoon on September 14th, soil and rocks began flowing down from the mountain like a stream. Local authorities immediately mobilized officials and militia to assist the family in evacuating.
“The rocks and soil fell so quickly. Even with government assistance, we only managed to dismantle the roof tiles and a few wooden planks. Not long after, the entire house was buried. There are six of us in the family, and we can't keep staying with relatives forever. I don't know what will happen next.”
Mr. La Van Chien (47 years old, Xieng Thu village, Chieu Luu commune, Ky Son district)
According to a report from the People's Committee of Tuong Duong District, due to the impact of Typhoon No. 4, from September 20 to 22, heavy rains affected nearly 90 houses belonging to local residents. Of these, 6 houses were completely destroyed, including the newly built house of Mr. Lo Van Mao. Most of these houses were damaged by landslides caused by falling rocks and soil from the mountains.
In Thach Giam town (Tuong Duong district), the Hoa Binh Hotel also suffered landslides, causing a wall to collapse and dozens of cubic meters of soil to flood inside. Heavy rains over several days also caused landslides on numerous major roads in the district, temporarily isolating many areas. In addition, dozens of hectares of rice fields belonging to local residents were buried under mud.
According to a report from the Ky Son District People's Committee, the impact of typhoons No. 3 and No. 4 caused heavy rain, affecting 18 houses. Some houses were completely destroyed. Fortunately, before the landslides occurred, the local authorities had evacuated residents and some of their belongings.
However, many areas in Ky Son district still have a high risk of landslides. In Xop Phe and Na Mi villages (Muong Tip commune), local authorities have had to encourage residents to move to live in mixed-use housing with neighboring households unaffected by landslides; and have prepared plans to evacuate people and property in the event of a natural disaster. In Canh village (Ta Ca commune), although functional forces have carried out landslide remediation and slope stabilization work, surrounding areas still pose a potential risk of landslides. Therefore, the authorities are still encouraging residents to move to live in mixed-use housing with neighboring households; at the same time, they have posted warning signs and stationed personnel to prevent people and vehicles from passing through. Plans for evacuating people and property are also in place in case of a natural disaster.
Similarly, landslides occurred in villages such as Nam Tien 2 (Bao Nam commune), Sa Vang (Ta Ca commune), Xop Tu (My Ly commune), Pha Khom (Pha Danh commune), and Luu Thang (Chieu Luu commune) in Ky Son district, forcing many households to evacuate to safe areas for temporary shelter.
