Need to evacuate people from the landslide area of ​​Quyết mountain soon

(Baonghean)Dozens of households living at the foot of Quyet Mountain (in Blocks 1, 2 and 3, Trung Do Ward - Vinh City) for the past 3 years have always been in a state of anxiety and worry every time there is a storm, because in the past, Quyet Mountain area has suffered landslides many times. In October 2010, after a torrential rain, landslides occurred in many places, causing a large amount of earth and rock to collapse. Although there were no casualties, 13 houses and many properties were severely damaged...

Nearly 2 years ago, the family of Mr. Le Van Lap, Mr. Nguyen Hong Cuong, Mrs. Ngo Thi Nguyet... all living in block 2, Trung Do ward were also hit by 200 - 300m3 of rock and soil collapsing, burying the entire back garden, destroying both side houses, and filling the water well.

In the Quyet mountain area, we witnessed many houses built solidly right at the foot of the mountain, behind them were steep cliffs, hundreds of tons of rocks and soil above were in danger of landslides at any time. Unable to hide her worries, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu in group 1, block 2 said: “For more than 3 years, every time the rainy season is about to start, our whole block is worried to the point of losing sleep because we have learned many valuable lessons about landslides. We know that disaster is always lurking, but we have to close our eyes and take the risk, because where can we get a large sum of money to move to the resettlement area to build a new house, if the State only supports the cost of moving, which is 20 million VND”…



The resettlement area for households at risk of landslides in Quyết Mountain (in Block 3 - Trung Do Ward) was completed in early 2012 but no households have built houses yet. Photo: NA

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huan - Chairman of Trung Do Ward People's Committee said: The landslide at Dung Quyet mountain has been happening since 2008, when the road to King Quang Trung temple was being built, this area also suffered landslides. Through actual inspection, currently around the foot of the mountain, there are 40 households whose lives and property are threatened, especially 12 households in the high-risk landslide area that need to be urgently relocated. Faced with the risk of landslides endangering households, authorities at all levels have actively taken action, conducted field surveys, developed plans and completed plans for resettlement area planning.

Currently, there is a resettlement area (in block 3 of the ward) with 18 lots, each lot has an average of 130m2 of land. However, relocating households to the resettlement area is a difficult problem. Because according to Decision No. 193/2006/QD-TTg and Decision No. 78/2008/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on the policy of implementing the population resettlement program, households who lose their houses, residential land, and production land due to landslides, flash floods, flash floods, land subsidence, tornadoes, and tsunamis; households living in areas at risk of landslides, flash floods, flash floods, land subsidence, tornadoes, tsunamis, etc. are arranged to move to the resettlement area according to State regulations. Regarding land, each household is assigned 1 residential land lot in the form of land exchange, without collecting land use fees at the resettlement area.

Regarding relocation support, each household received 20 million VND (no compensation or support for land or property)... Although the resettlement area was completed in early 2012, the relocation has not been carried out yet because if only the relocation support is provided, people will not have the conditions to build new houses. To cope with landslides when the flood season is approaching, the ward has promoted and advised households to develop their own safety plans for their families. And when storms occur, ward officials must direct families to mobilize people who are not at home to move valuable assets to a safe place.

Discussing the above issue, Mr. Dang Thai Binh - Director of Vinh City Land Fund Development Center said: According to the detailed planning for the construction of Quyet Mountain Forest Park approved by the Provincial People's Committee in Decision No. 5571/QD-UBND-CNN in December 2008, all households with houses and land around the foot of Quyet Mountain (along Ngo Thi Nham Street, Road No. 2 and bypass road) must move to implement the planning.

On June 6, 2012, the City Compensation Council held a meeting and agreed on a plan: To relocate these 12 households, it is necessary to immediately establish a phase 1 construction investment project (including items: compensation for 12 households; building embankments and planting trees according to the approved plan - the section passing through 12 households). The City People's Committee has decided to assign the Land Fund Development Center to establish the project "Investment in construction of embankments to prevent landslides in Dung Quyet mountain area". If the project is approved and implemented, the households that must be relocated will be "Compensated, supported and resettled when the State reclaims land" according to Decree No. 181/ND-CP, Decree No. 197/2004/ND-CP and Decree No. 69/2009/ND-CP of the Government. Accordingly, households allocated land in the resettlement planning area in the form of compensation for differences in land use fees will be compensated for assets, trees and crops.

But that is a long-term issue. Currently, on Quyết Mountain, there are still many cracks and areas that can cause landslides. If there is a big storm, the water on the mountain will carry mud and soil straight down to the households living at the foot of the mountain. The authorities at all levels quickly have policies to help households in areas at high risk of landslides to move to safe places.