Thousands of Nghe An residents face the risk of insecurity during the flood season.
Before this year's storm season, there were still hundreds of landslides in residential areas in Nghe An, putting thousands of people at risk of losing their lives and property.
Worries when the rainy season comes
In 2020, after storm No. 9, heavy rains continued, on Tho Bui mountain (Quang Son commune, Do Luong district), a landslide 80m long and nearly 3m deep appeared. Since then, almost every year Mr. Le Huu Thanh's family (village 2) and the people in the village have had to flee from floods.
“Just a heavy rain makes us have to send the elderly, women and children to stay with relatives in other villages. Many men and young men have to stay behind to guard the cattle and property, but they don’t dare stay at home for fear of the house collapsing,” Mr. Thanh shared.
Not only landslides, there are also many very large rocks on the mountain. Therefore, in recent years, during the rainy season, the forces of Quang Son commune have had to split up to support people in the flooded area of Tan Thang, and help 13 households with nearly 60 people living at the foot of the mountain.
Mr. Le Van Chong - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: "We focus on propaganda and mobilizing people to be ready to evacuate when there is heavy rain, notify each household and assign hamlets to directly monitor and urge; the commune sends forces to each family to help people evacuate to a safe place; the militia and self-defense team is on duty 24/7 to promptly handle any situation that may arise."
However, according to Mr. Chong, that is only a temporary and passive measure. In the long term, to truly stabilize, we want to build a resettlement area for the people. Last year, the commune also held a meeting to solicit opinions, the plan was to move to a plot of land about 1km from the foot of the mountain, but many households did not agree, giving many reasons such as being used to the old place; the land in the resettlement area is not as large; financial difficulties when having to rebuild houses...
In Thanh Chuong district, according to the latest statistics, there are currently 33 landslide risk areas in the area, with 254 households and 869 people affected. Notably, residential areas living right at the foot of the mountain such as in the Ru Ve hill area, Ru Da (Thanh Hoa) with 6 households and 25 people; Ru Chang Nang (Thanh Lien) with 12 households and 40 people; along Ru Lam mountain (Thanh An) with 15 households and 62 people affected.
Mr. Le Dinh Thanh - Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee discussed: In recent years, from the central and provincial budget, some dangerous landslides have been handled, but not significantly compared to the actual situation. Up to now, there are still many alarming landslides in the area such as the Ro River bank through Vo Liet commune which has been partially repaired but is posing a high risk when the rainy and stormy season comes. In particular, the Giang River dike in Thanh Lien commune has up to 100 households and 400 people affected...
To ensure people's safety, Thanh Chuong district has directed sectors and communes to prepare plans to evacuate people to safe places when there is a warning of extreme weather; at the same time, in the long term, focus on land planning and gradually build resettlement areas.
"Most of the people want to be resettled right in the locality, so depending on the specific situation, we will make appropriate arrangements, possibly building concentrated areas or interspersed areas," Mr. Le Dinh Thanh added.
Ensuring safety for the people
Nghe An is a province that is often affected by natural disasters and weather. Natural disasters such as storms, floods, subsidence, landslides, whirlwinds, droughts, and hail occur every year. In particular, subsidence and landslides often occur in many places, especially in mountainous areas and river banks, posing a potential threat to people's lives and property.
The causes of subsidence and landslides, in addition to the effects of natural disasters, floods... are also due to geological changes. Over a long period of time, some hills and mountains have weathered, weakening the geological foundation; some places are affected by human activities such as cutting down trees, exploiting land, clearing land for building houses, and even large areas at the foot of the mountain have been hollowed out, destabilizing the foot of the mountain, making it very susceptible to landslides during heavy rains.
Every year, the Provincial Irrigation Department reviews and compiles statistics on landslides, cases threatening people's lives and homes, vulnerable areas, and urgent landslides in localities to propose support for handling.
From the central budget, the efforts of the province and localities, some landslides have been overcome, such as the Voi Mountain area in Nghi Cong Bac commune (Nghi Loc) where the land has been leveled, reducing the mountain height, thereby reducing the load on the foot of the mountain, reducing the risk of subsidence that endangers nearly 70 households living at the foot of the mountain.
Some landslides on river banks and mountain slopes have also been invested with tens of billions of VND. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan - Deputy Head of the Irrigation Sub-Department: To handle landslides, a huge amount of funding is required, up to 20-50 billion VND/project, and the budget cannot be allocated enough.
The plan to build resettlement areas to move people to safe places has also been considered, but has encountered many difficulties in both land fund and funding.
According to experts, the most feasible solution at present is to let businesses organize land exploitation, lower the height and level the mountain to minimize the risk of landslides. However, in reality, implementing this plan is not simple.
For example, the subsidence point at Tho Bui mountain, Quang Son commune of Do Luong district, according to Mr. Hoang Van Hiep - Chairman of the District People's Committee: Since 2021, the district has had a policy to invest in the urgent project to handle the landslide at Tho Bui mountain, aiming to exploit soil and rock, reduce the height of the mountain to reduce the impact and risk of subsidence, ensuring the safety of property and lives of households living at the foot of the mountain.
Accordingly, the slopes will be removed in areas with serious landslides and large rocks on the mountain top will be moved, with a total investment of about 1.4 billion VND. The technical and economic report on construction investment and the contractor selection plan have been approved since July 2021. Many units have come to survey but have refused to accept the bid due to many reasons such as difficult transportation routes and being close to residential areas, which does not ensure safe exploitation.
Recently, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De inspected the situation of landslides near residential areas in the province and directed: Ensuring safety for people is the top priority. Functional sectors and localities regularly monitor the situation of subsidence and landslides, put up warning signs and restrict or prohibit people and vehicles from passing through dangerous areas.
Provide early and regular warnings about landslide risks to households so that they can proactively take precautions; prepare all necessary conditions, propagate, mobilize and help, evacuate people to safe places when there is prolonged rain and landslide risk. The authorities are on duty 24/24 to promptly handle situations that arise, and support to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.