Landslide at Khe Chong and Khe O Residential Areas (Tuong Duong): Part 2 - The danger was foretold!

(Baonghean.vn).In 2006, just one year after moving to the new Khe Chong resettlement area, the houses had just been built, and before the people could rejoice in their new, spacious, clean and beautiful houses, one of the best in the commune, rocks and soil flooded into their houses. That disaster was the first sign of a not-so-peaceful life in this new land.

->see Lesson 1: The fear of "mountains pressing down, rivers swallowing"

The family of Mr. Vi Van Nghe and Mrs. Vi Thi Tam, in Khe Chong, was one of the first households to suffer from the landslide. The incident happened 6 years ago, but Mr. Nghe still remembers every detail clearly. He said that at the same time as this year, the first rainy season in the new resettlement area, those days, it rained heavily, his family of five were at home. Suddenly, at 9am, they heard rocks and soil rumbling down from the mountain. The wall behind the house still smelled of paint, collapsed, rocks and soil were shot into the house. All five people were lucky to escape death. But from then on, an ominous premonition was always present in his thoughts.

Mr. Nghe said: Right after the landslide in 2006, his family received 4 million VND in support from the Hydropower Project Management Board II. At the same time, in the landslide sections, they gave concrete slopes or made rock cages to block soil and rocks in case of landslides.

Along with Mr. Nghe's family is the family of Mr. Vi Trong Phong, a neighbor, who is also one of the first victims of the landslide. "Since moving to the new resettlement area, although the Management Board of Hydropower Project II has built a water distribution ditch on Khe Chong mountain and made stone cages, there has not been a year when the mountain has not suffered landslides, more or less, the worst being in 2006 and this year," Mr. Phong lamented. This year, Mr. Nghe's and Mr. Phong's families continue to suffer from landslides with anxiety.

At Khe O resettlement area, dozens of households are in a similar situation, not knowing how to move but worrying about staying. Recently, during the storm at the end of June, the mountain also suffered a serious landslide, rocks and soil rushed into houses, making Khe O residents scared out of their wits. Immediately after that terrible landslide, according to the commune's relocation policy, seven households had to relocate, and now, their lives are extremely precarious.

Thus, it can be seen that the recent serious landslide at Khe Chong resettlement area, Yen Na commune (Tuong Duong) is just one in a series of unending landslide disasters that the local people have to endure when moving to the new resettlement area. Six years later, although Ban Ve Hydropower Plant has been completed and connected to the national grid, the lives of hundreds of households right next to it are still in a state of anxiety due to the predicted danger. What is the source of this situation?

Through research, we learned that the migration to Khe Chong and Khe O areas originated from the wishes of the people of Ve village, Yen Na commune at that time. Mr. Vi Van Nghe - said: Unlike the people of Kim Da, Kim Tien, Huu Duong, Huu Khuong communes who relocated to new places in Tuong Duong and Thanh Chuong districts. 146 households of Ve village (in 2005) met together and agreed, requesting Tuong Duong district and the Management Board of Hydropower Project II to stay in Yen Na commune.

After receiving the people's wishes, Tuong Duong district at that time agreed and let the people of Ve village find a new land for resettlement, which is the land at Khe Chong and Khe O now. When the people chose the land, the district was only responsible for propaganda work for the people to relocate, while the organization and implementation of the resettlement area was the responsibility of the Management Board of Hydropower Project II.

Thus, the fact that people in the Khe Chong and Khe O resettlement areas have had to "live in fear" for several years is the result of subjectivity from many related parties. If there had been careful preparation, survey and forecast, the village would certainly not have fallen into the anxiety of "mountains pressing down, rivers swallowing" as it is now.

Nguyen Thanh Duy