Nam Can - Concerns after the floods

(Baonghean)Immediately after the floods at the end of June, the people of Nam Can commune, Ky Son district, quickly set about overcoming the consequences and restoring production. Peaceful life has returned to this high mountain region as it once was. However, after this flood, a worrying problem has emerged in Nam Can…

A week has passed, but the people of Nam Can commune, Ky Son district, are still reeling from shock and fear whenever they recall the ferocious flash flood that swept away Ms. Lo Thi Hue and her child (from Luu Kien commune, Tuong Duong district, who rented a stall to sell goods in the Nam Can stream) in the early morning of June 23rd. Mr. Va Chi Co, 70 years old, the village elder of Nam Can and Chairman of the Elderly Association of the commune, led us to the scene of the tragic incident. Pointing to the large rocks, as big as house roofs, that the flood had brought from who knows where, Mr. Va Chi Co said: "From childhood until now, I have never seen a flash flood like this in the area. The destructive power of the flood is so terrible that everyone is terrified."

The Nậm Càn stream used to be a small creek located between the Nậm Càn village and the new Liên Sơn village. Every year, many tourists came here to sightsee and swim. But now, right before our eyes, the creek has become a waterfall, with water cascading down the steep rocky slope. The former spillway has completely disappeared, replaced by a deep hollow; a section of the road connecting the two villages has also been eroded, leaving only a few concrete slabs and some steel bars. The small iron bridge spanning the Nậm Càn stream, right next to the spillway and where Ms. Huế's family met with the accident, is also severely damaged, with part of its foundation hollowed out.

Mr. Va Lia Nenh, Secretary of the Party Committee of the commune, recounted the story of the devastating flash flood.
Nam Can ravine.

The sudden flash flood damaged the entire clean water system for domestic use and farming in Nam Can; it also broke two power poles in Luu Kien commune, leaving Nam Can without electricity for a week after the flood. Mr. Vu Chong Po, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Can commune, said: Immediately after the flash flood, the Party Committee, People's Committee, and various departments and organizations of the commune coordinated with officers and soldiers of the Nam Can Border Guard Post to carry out search and rescue operations. They successfully rescued Lo Thi Thuong (daughter of Ms. Luong Thi Hue, 13 years old) and recovered the bodies of Ms. Hue and her son. After the flood receded, the commune and the border guard post quickly implemented remedial activities such as cleaning up and repairing the water pipes. To date, the old iron pipes have been removed and temporarily replaced with plastic pipes to ensure that the people have access to clean water.

The flood has passed, but its horrific aftermath remains; the fear of further landslides, loss of homes, and loss of lives haunts the people, especially those living in the dangerous areas at the foot of Nam Can mountain and above the Nam Can ravine, such as the families of Va Ba Xu and Va No Bi… In his newly completed house, still smelling of fresh wood, Va Ba Xu (26 years old), from Lien Son village, shared: “Seeing the consequences of the flash flood, my family is very scared; the commune officials and border guard soldiers came to persuade us to move, but we don’t have the means to move yet. The new house was built with government support under Program 167.”

The houses of Mr. Va Ba Xu and Mr. Va No Bi are located in an area at high risk of landslides.

The weather in Ky Son and Tuong Duong is similar to that in neighboring Laos – it's currently the rainy season (from May to November); and it's also a sensitive climate zone, where heavy rain falls whenever there are storms in the lowlands. This means the risk of flash floods and landslides remains very high in the coming period. Disaster could strike the families of Va Ba Xu and Va No Bi at any time. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen The Duong, Political Officer of the Nam Can Border Guard Post, stated that the measures being implemented by the post and commune to encourage people in dangerous areas to relocate and to erect barriers to prevent people from traveling to unsafe points are only temporary solutions. For a longer-term solution, coordinated efforts between all levels and sectors are needed to address the root cause…

According to our investigation, another very concerning issue is that the people of Nam Can commune in particular, and many other places in the mountainous districts of our province in general, still lack a full understanding of the causes of flash floods and landslides. They are unaware that harmful practices such as burning forests for slash-and-burn agriculture and shifting cultivation are causing deforestation, disrupting the ecological balance, contributing to climate change, and increasing natural disasters. Even Mr. Vu Chong Po, the Chairman of Nam Can commune, still believes that "flash floods occur because of the construction of border patrol roads."

In Nam Can after the flood, life has returned to normal. The cultivated land along the river and streams that was buried under mud and rocks has been cleared; trees are lush and green again; the Nam Can stream spillway is being gradually repaired; and the hardworking and diligent Mong people here are diligently farming and producing. However, amidst this rapid recovery, lurking threats and anxieties still remain…

Chung - Hai - Trieu