Nghe An: Many households in the landslide area have not yet been evacuated to safety.

Bung Xat village area, Chau Khe commune, Con Cuong district still has hanging rocks, the risk of landslides is very high. Photo: Van Truong

Living insecurity under the jaws of death

Crossing the winding forest road, we found our way to Bung Xat village, Chau Khe commune, district.Con Cuong.At the beginning of Bung Xat village, there are 17 households in the landslide area, at high risk of insecurity. It is known that at the end of October 2020, in Bung Xat village, a large crack suddenly appeared on the mountain after many days of heavy rain.

Observation in this area shows that most households build their houses on steep slopes. The landslide area is located right next to the houses of households, the danger of landslides is always lurking.

The house of Mrs. Loc Thi Dien in Bung Xat village, Chau Khe commune, is precariously perched on the mountainside. Photo: Van Truong

Ms. Loc Thi Dien in Bung Xat village, Chau Khe commune said: The cracks around the mountain were filled by the district a few months ago, but there are still many large boulders hanging on the mountainside, which can fall down at any time. In the long term, we need to relocate to a safe place. Worried about landslides that can happen at any time, some households in Bung Xat village have found land and built houses in other locations.

Mr. Kha Van Thuong - Chairman of Chau Khe Commune People's Committee said: In the long term, 17 households in Bung Xat village really want to be relocated to a safe place, because they all live around rugged mountains with unstable geology.

Some people in Bung Xat village, Chau Khe commune proactively went down to the stream to build houses to avoid landslides. Photo: Van Truong

A representative of the Economic Infrastructure Department of Con Cuong district added: Faced with the current landslide situation, the Provincial People's Committee has allowed Con Cuong district to establish a project to urgently relocate households in the landslide disaster area in Bung Xat village with a total estimated investment of 20 billion VND.

However, due to funding difficulties, the plan to evacuate 17 households in the landslide area has not yet been implemented. In October 2021, the district has overcome the above problem by using machinery to level and fill the cracks on the mountain. However, this is only a temporary solution.

Geological drilling to "detect" landslides

Minh Phuong village, Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong district) has 17 households located in the affected area.landslidesserious after the flood in August 2018. The district has deployed the construction of a resettlement area to arrange for people to live, but at the resettlement site, cracks appeared on the embankment to prevent landslides, so many households did not dare to live there. Due to lack of living space, households had to build temporary houses along the Nam Non River.

Stone embankment landslide caused by storms in 2019 at the resettlement area of ​​17 households in Minh Phuong village, Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong district). Photo: Van Truong

Some households here reflect: We wish to move to the new resettlement area, but due to the crack at the resettlement embankment, no one dares to move there yet.

Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Minh Commune said: In response to the urgent need for accommodation, the above households have proposed to the commune to build temporary houses in neighboring villages, but in reality, finding land to build houses is very difficult. Therefore, many households have had to live temporarily for a long time.

Some resettled people in Tuong Duong had to build temporary houses due to fear of landslides. Photo: Van Truong

It is known that the project to urgently relocate 17 households in Minh Phuong village, Luong Minh commune, invested by the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district, has a value of 7,354 billion VND, started in 2018, and will be completed in 2019. A representative of the Construction Project Management Board of Tuong Duong district added: Before the crack incident at the resettlement area, the district recently hired a geological drilling unit to conduct geological drilling at 9 locations in the resettlement area (over 20 meters deep) to ensure 3 cross-sections for accurate assessment. The results of the geological drilling showed that there were no deep landslides in the ground, only surface landslides due to storms in 2019.

Therefore, in the coming time, the district will reinforce the embankment and build an additional retaining wall system below to ensure safety. It is expected that the reinforcement will be completed by September 2022, put into use and invite households to the resettlement area to build houses.

The functional sector organized geological drilling at 9 locations in the resettlement area (over 20 meters deep) to ensure 3 cross-sections for accurate assessment. The results of geological drilling showed that there were no deep landslides in the ground, only surface landslides due to storms in 2019. Photo: Van Truong

According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nghe An currently has 9 emergency relocation projects that are still under construction, concentrated in the districts of Quy Hop, Tuong Duong, Ky Son, Thanh Chuong, Con Cuong... The reason why the above projects are still slow is because the capital allocation for the projects is slow, scattered, and drip-fed, mainly from the central budget, while the local budget is still very limited.

To ensure the safety of people's lives and property, it is thought that for urgent resettlement projects, relevant sectors need to have more radical solutions to speed up implementation progress, ensure safety and stabilize people's lives.