Difficulties in overcoming landslides on traffic routes in Ky Son

Early September 2022 (from September 4-5 and September 7-11),Ky Son districthas suffered two consecutive heavy rains and floods causing serious damage. Although the rain and floods have occurred for many days, hundreds of households are still isolated, and many traffic routes have not been restored due to consecutive landslides.

Ky Son district mobilized troubleshooting machines to help people cross spillways. Photo: Quang An

Faced with the erratic developments of floods and rains, the People's Committee of Ky Son district directed the People's Committees of Muong Tip, Muong Ai, Bao Nam communes and Muong Xen town (these communes are in vulnerable areas) to proactively monitor the developments of the rains toevacuate peopleto safety. After the two recent floods, the localities have supported the evacuation of all the people of Nam Tien 2 village to live in a concentrated kindergarten with 38 households, 180 people; 3 households, 10 people in Hom village, Huu Kiem commune to live in the village.

Regarding road repair, the district has mobilized 2 excavators, a loader from the district and mobilized more excavators from businesses to carry out the repair for many days. Currently, National Highway 7A has been cleared, at Km194+00 in Hom village, Huu Kiem commune has requested Ky Son Road Management Department to put up warning signs and spread roadbed patches to prevent leaks.

Machinery has been working at full capacity in recent days to level landslides, creating conditions for people to travel. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Localities have mobilized all machinery, militia forces, and youth unions to carry out the work."4 on-site" mottoTo clear traffic routes within the capacity of localities, support human resources to concentrate at 2 schools in Chieu Luu to clean up mud and soil to facilitate students going to school...

Mr. Moong Van Chan - Chairman of Bao Nam Commune People's Committee said that currently, there are still 3 villages isolated due to landslides, including: Huoi Hoc, Luu Tan and Thao Di. "Although the commune maintains 1-2 excavators to handle landslides, the roads cannot be cleared due to the large volume of soil and rocks. People in the above villages who want to leave the village can only walk through the landslides, which is very difficult. "The biggest worry is that sudden rain will cause more landslides, and the recovery work will be difficult and prolonged," Mr. Moong Van Chan worried.

At places with high risk of landslides, local authorities have stretched ropes and put up warning signs. Photo: Quang An

National Highway 7A through Ky Son district at this time also has many landslides that have not been handled. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Luong - Head of Ky Son Road Management Department said that after the recent heavy rains, on theNational Highway 7AThere are dozens of landslides, some of which are serious. The volume of soil and rock that has collapsed onto the road is estimated at 24,000 m3.³, the unit has mobilized all machinery and equipment to level the road all week but has not finished yet. By September 16, the unit has handled 70% of the landslide volume. For the negative slope landslide at Km 188+870, the unit has reported to the General Department of Roads for inspection, and a solution will be found later.

Faced with such a difficult situation, Ky Son district always monitors and directs localities to urgently overcome it. Mr. Tho Ba Re - Vice Chairman of Ky Son District People's Committee said: After the flood, many inter-commune and inter-village roads were eroded, the district directed the district to focus on repairing the road from the district to the commune center; the communes are primarily responsible for the roads from the commune center to the villages. However, if any point is seriously damaged, the district will support. However, up to now, there are still 2 communes, Bao Nam and Bao Thang, that have not been opened to cars, because the overflow point of Xop Thap village, Huu Lap commune is still flooded.

Food and provisions were provided promptly to people in flooded areas. Photo: Ky Son District People's Committee

“The most difficult thing right now is that it still rains every late afternoon, causing the water in many streams and creeks to rise and flow rapidly, making it impossible for vehicles to pass through, making rescue work difficult. The mountainous terrain is steep, so even if the machine clears the water, it will rain again.landslides, making it difficult to fix. Therefore, the district cannot determine when it will be completely open to traffic," said Mr. Tho Ba Re.

Being at the peak of the rainy season, Ky Son district is facing many difficulties and challenges caused by natural disasters. Therefore, the solution to cope with natural disasters is that Ky Son district must do well the "4 on-site" steps to handle incidents when they occur, in order to limit damage to people's lives and property.