Many landslides after flash floods have not been repaired yet, Tuong Duong residents are worried as the rainy season approaches

Passing through the winding forest roads along the Nam Non River, we headed to Dua village (Luong Minh commune), which is considered the "epicenter" of the flash flood at the end of September 2024. Along the road to the village, traces of the flood are still present. The embankment from the beginning of Dua village was washed away by Mat stream, creating a large gap where the land was torn apart, eating deep into the inter-village traffic route. Some large landslides along the mountainside of rocks and soil still hang suspended as if waiting for a heavy rain to come down at any moment.

Going deeper into the village, along Mat stream, many uprooted trees lay scattered, traces of the flash flood were still there. Some fences and outbuildings of the people that were washed away have not been rebuilt.

Ms. Lo Thi Minh Hang in Dua village, whose stilt house is located right next to the stream, is still shocked when recalling the flash flood that occurred on September 29, 2024: "The water rose suddenly, sweeping away the outbuildings, the stilt house tilted, had to be dismantled and moved to the back to rebuild. Now, every time it rains heavily, the whole family does not dare to sleep. We really hope that the State will soon build an embankment along the stream to protect houses and people's lives when the flood season comes."

Next to Ms. Hang's house, Mr. Luong Van Long pointed to the stream bank that had been temporarily reinforced with hand-laid stones and shared: "The bathroom and toilet were all swept away by the flood. The family took the effort to collect stones to reinforce the stream bank, but it was only a temporary solution and we were not assured when the storm season came."

Near the residential area of ​​​​Dua village, a large landslide is directly threatening households. The distance from the collapsed cliff to the roof is only about 3-4 meters. Every time there is heavy rain, many families have to temporarily evacuate. "No one dares to sleep at home, sometimes they have to run to relatives' houses far away from the stream to avoid the landslide" - said a resident.

Mr. Vi Van Dan - Secretary of the Party Cell of Dua village (Luong Minh commune) said that the village has 87 households, most of whom live along Mat stream and along the mountainside, where the terrain is complex and prone to natural disasters. The sudden flash flood on September 29, 2024 caused significant damage, especially the internal traffic system was severely damaged, with the next heavy rain some roads will be cut off. According to Mr. Dan, some landslides are currently at high risk, and it is necessary to invest in building embankments along streams, streams and mountain foot to protect people's safety during the rainy season.

Not only in Dua village, in Minh Tien village (Luong Minh commune), the flash flood on September 29, 2024 caused mud to flow into the residential area, causing severe flooding at Luong Minh Primary Boarding School. The consequences have not yet been completely overcome, while the new rainy season is approaching. The commune authorities said that the locality is proposing to the superiors to soon invest in building embankments along Mat stream to protect the safety of the village and the school area from the risk of flash floods continuing to recur.

Mr. Vi Dinh Phuc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Luong Minh Commune, said that the commune has 10 villages located in rugged terrain, with the characteristics of "mountains on one side and streams on the other", making the risk of flash floods and flash floods always present. The flash flood on September 29, 2024 left a lot of damage, which has not been completely repaired yet, including landslides on negative slopes, and rocks and soil flowing from the mountainside to residential areas. "This year's weather has been unusual, the risk of natural disasters is very high. We hope that the relevant agencies will soon pay attention to investing in building mountain embankments and river embankments to protect people's lives and property" - Mr. Phuc emphasized.

According to a report from the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district (Nghe An province), heavy rains in 2024 caused a series of serious landslides, damaging many traffic routes and stream banks, directly affecting people's lives.

In particular, the road from Xop Mat suspension bridge to Cham Puong village (Luong Minh commune) suffered from severe landslides, National Highway 7 through Na Be village (Xa Luong commune) had many dangerous landslides, and some inter-village roads and streams in Tam Hop commune were also seriously damaged. With the district budget, since the beginning of 2025, Tuong Duong district has repaired some landslides, but not much.

In particular, in Nhon Mai commune, this year's flood season came early, causing a flash flood that caused significant damage to people, increasing concerns in many localities in the area.

Faced with increasingly unusual weather conditions, the people of the mountainous areas of Tuong Duong district are living in a state of anxiety and worry. Not only are they concerned about property damage, what worries many households the most is the risk of losing their lives due to landslides and flash floods. Local people hope that the relevant agencies will soon pay attention to building embankments to prevent landslides and riverbank embankments to stabilize their lives and ensure safety when floods and rains come.