Landslide warning in Nghe An: SOS

Lesson 1: Mysterious Cracks

Over the past two years, dozens of cracks have continuously appeared on the mountains in many villages in mountainous districts such as Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong... Especially after this year's flood season, the cracks have appeared more and grown larger, threatening the lives and property of people living below.

'Land Bomb on Head'

For more than half a month now, the authorities of Chau Khe commune (Con Cuong) have had to assign forces to be on duty 24/7 in Bung Xat village to prevent landslides. This force is responsible for observing and promptly warning people to evacuate if the cracks develop abnormally. Not far from the authorities' checkpoint, groups of people "gathered in groups of three or five" constantly talking about these mysterious cracks; their eyes showed confusion. "I was born here, then got married and lived here. I have never seen this situation since I was little," said Ms. Loc Thi Dien (62 years old).

According to Mr. Nguyen The Anh - Vice Chairman of Chau Khe Commune People's Committee, this crack appeared after a heavy rain on October 29. Immediately, the commune had to evacuate 17 households with more than 50 people to a safe place. According to Nghe An Newspaper reporters, the crack is about 1 meter wide, 2 meters deep in some places and is growing larger. This crack runs in an arc shape for about 200 meters, tearing apart an entire mountainside, completely separating it from the rest. Right at the foot of the mountain is an inter-commune asphalt road, running along the Chi Khe hydroelectric reservoir. Dozens of long-standing houses have lived along this road.

The area where the crack appeared was a bamboo forest that had been planted by local people for many generations. According to the estimate of the Vice Chairman of the Chau Khe Commune People's Committee, the amount of soil and rock completely separated from the mountainside was about 500,000 cubic meters."If it continues to rain, there is a risk that the flood will not only sweep away houses but also the asphalt road into the hydroelectric reservoir.", Mr. Nguyen The Anh said and believed that the best solution to handle this situation is to blast this block of earth and rock. With hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of earth and rock floating, the locals here liken it to a "earth bomb", waiting to destroy a series of surrounding houses.

Bung Xat village is located between two hydroelectric plants. Downstream is Chi Khe hydroelectric plant, and about 5 km upstream is Suoi Choang hydroelectric plant. Many areas of land, although according to the initial environmental impact assessment, are above the flood level, have been completely submerged under the lake since Chi Khe hydroelectric plant has stored water. Since the cracks appeared, people have often discussed the cause and assumed that the cracks appeared because the hydroelectric plant stored water, threatening the villagers. "However, that is just what people guess, but the cause needs to be based on science. We still do not know why," said the leader of Chau Khe commune.

People are confused

Sharing the same fate as Bung Xat village, 36 households with more than 150 people of Nam Tien 2 village (Bao Nam commune, Ky Son district) have been living in fear for many months because of mysterious cracks running around the mountain, where the villagers have lived stably for many generations. “Everyone is very worried.Never seen it before. I was afraid that if it rained heavily, a landslide would bury the whole village.Mr. Cut Van Thang - Vice Chairman of Bao Nam Commune People's Committee said and informed that the authorities and people here do not know the cause of these cracks.

According to the reporter's observation, there are about 5 cracks, each about 2 meters deep, nearly 1 meter wide, running hundreds of meters right next to the residential area. There are many places where each layer of soil has sunk more than 1 meter lower than before. The giant rocks and soil are gradually separating, at risk of sliding down the stream at any time. Therefore, every time there is heavy rain, the government has to come to mobilize people to evacuate to a safe place.“We can’t live here anymore. It will collapse sooner or later. The whole village needs to be evacuated.”Mr. Thang added.

Also in Ky Son district, after a short time, cracks were formed, after heavy rain in mid-September, a series of points on the road to Na Ngoi commune were seriously eroded. Hundreds of cubic meters of rock and soil that had been cracked before collapsed, killing 8 buffaloes of the local people. The landslide also seriously damaged the road to the commune, with a section hundreds of meters long buried by rocks and soil more than 2 meters high. In addition, according to the reporter's investigation, in Ky Son district, there are dozens of points where cracks have appeared on the mountain, threatening the lives of people living below.

Meanwhile, in Mai Son commune (Tuong Duong), people in Pha Khao village have also had to live in anxiety for the past 2 years because of a series of mysterious cracks. The main crack is nearly 1km long, surrounding the village. The width of these cracks is nearly 1 meter in some places and more than 2 meters deep. Especially in the area of ​​Pha Khao Primary and Kindergarten, the cracks are so crisscrossed that the concrete floors have shattered... Fearing for the safety of both teachers and students, as these cracks show signs of spreading, the authorities have decided to relocate the school. "The cracks keep spreading. I can't even sleep, especially when it rains, because I'm afraid my house will collapse," said Mr. Va Ba Nhien (60 years old).Many survey teams have also come here but until now, the cause of these cracks is still unknown.Meanwhile, people's anxiety is gradually increasing, proportional to the size of the cracks that are surrounding their homes.

In Tung Huong village, Tam Quang commune (Tuong Duong), every time there is heavy rain, the authorities have to go to each house to persuade people to evacuate. Ms. Lo Thi Bich (72 years old) said that she is too tired because she has to take refuge continuously. Ms. Bich's house is located directly in front of the landslide, about 5 meters away. According to Ms. Bich, about 2 years ago, after a flood, a crack appeared from the mountain. Immediately after that, the rock and soil slowly slid down, layer after layer. At one point, the rock and soil slid down, blocking the road to the center of the village, falling all the way to the foot of Ms. Bich's stilt house, causing a corner of the column to tilt.“Having to evacuate constantly is tiring. But we have to go because we are afraid. Everyone here is afraid. We just want to move somewhere to live in peace.”, Mrs. Bich said.