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 many landslides. 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 also had 200 - 300m3 of rock and soil collapse, burying the entire backyard garden, destroying both side rooms of the house, and filling the water well.

In the Quyết 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 by 20 million VND"...



The resettlement area for households at risk of landslides in Quyết Mountain (at 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 a landslide. Through actual inspection, currently around the foot of the mountain, there are 40 households that are in danger of life and property safety, especially 12 households in the high-risk landslide area that need to be urgently evacuated. Faced with the risk of landslides endangering households, authorities at all levels have actively intervened, conducted field surveys, made plans and completed plans for resettlement 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 that 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 allocated 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 of people has not been carried out yet because if only supporting the relocation fee, people will not have the conditions to build new houses. To cope with the landslide situation when the flood season is approaching, the ward has propagated and advised households to develop their own safety plans for their families. And when storms occur, ward officials must direct families to mobilize people not in the house 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 the bypass) 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 the following items: compensation for 12 households; construction of embankments and planting of 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 relocate 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 that are 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 with high risk of landslides to move to safe places.