Focus on restoring the "green lungs" of suburban areas after the storm

Hung Hoa Reservoir is the largest reservoir in the old Vinh City, with an area of ​​53 hectares, of which the water surface is 40 hectares, located at the end of the North Canal, now bordering Truong Vinh and Vinh Loc wards.

Not only is this a place to regulate and reduce flooding for the city, the lake is also an ecological balance point, contributing to adapting to climate change and creating a landscape to serve the community. The rows of green trees along the lake provide cool shade, and have been a place for people to exercise, walk and play for many years.

However, the recent storm No. 5 has made the lake more desolate than ever. Recorded on September 4-5, after more than a week of the storm, hundreds of trees along the lake were knocked down and have not been rebuilt, many large stumps were uprooted, blocking the path. This situation not only makes the landscape desolate but also poses a potential safety risk to people traveling through here.

Faced with that situation, Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company has mobilized forces to urgently implement solutions. Mr. Pham Huu Thang - Head of Administrative Organization Department, Nghe An Urban Environment and Construction Joint Stock Company said: Last week, forces and vehicles gave top priority to cleaning up the inner city environment to ensure traffic and daily life for people. Immediately after completing in the wards and communes, we assigned many working groups to focus on working at the regulating lake.

This is a heavily affected area, according to preliminary statistics, up to 700 - 800 trees out of a total of about 1,000 trees around the lake were broken, uprooted, and tilted. The workload is large, so the restoration is expected to last for many days, with the motto of both cleaning up and re-erecting trees, while ensuring hygiene and safety.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Phong - Vice Chairman of Truong Vinh Ward People's Committee said: The regulating lake used to be in the territory of 3 wards and communes including Hung Hoa, Hung Dung and Hung Loc, now most of it is in Truong Vinh Ward. Through the survey, this is also a heavily damaged spot in the area after the storm, which has not been handled in time. Currently, the local government is also directing forces, coordinating with the green tree company, the environmental company to clean up and restore the landscape of the largest reservoir in the area.

Mr. Hoang Manh Ba, a worker directly involved in pruning and erecting trees at the lake, shared: “The work at the lake is quite heavy because there are many large trees with wide roots. We have to coordinate closely, prune each branch, then use ropes and poles to erect the trees. Small trees can be lifted by human power, but large trees must be pulled up by machinery. Although tired, everyone is determined to work as quickly as possible, because the lake is a place with a lot of people passing by, especially every afternoon.”

According to the plan, in addition to re-erecting trees that are still able to recover, completely broken trees will be replaced with new ones, ensuring uniformity and longevity. Units also arrange for more machinery, overtime, and compensation for workers during “peak weeks”, both to motivate morale and to encourage progress.

Not only stopping at overcoming the immediate consequences, the government and businesses also determined that it is necessary to implement long-term preventive solutions for the situation of fallen trees, especially in areas heavily affected by natural disasters such as Nghe An.

In particular, priority is given to planting additional trees that can withstand storms well, have deep roots, and compact canopies; regularly prune periodically to reduce the risk of breakage; and at the same time, develop an urban tree management process suitable for climate change. At the same time, socialization and community mobilization to participate in preserving the landscape, protecting trees, and the lake environment are also necessary directions to create sustainability for this ecological site.