It is worth mentioning, the erosion is more and more unusual,the landslide situation not only occurs in the rainy season but also in the dry season is also very complicated. In recent years, the intensity of landslides has been increasing, the level of damage is increasing. People living in the landslide are afraid to wait for the solution, while the local authorities are also "standing still".
The landslide situation in the Mekong Delta over the past time has become more and more unusual and complicated. (Photo: Tran Hieu)
The house of Mr. Diep Thanh Hung's family (Hai Hung, in Bo Huu hamlet, Tam Giang Dong commune, Nam Can district, Ca Mau) is only about 10m from the shore.
In the Bu Huu residential area at the Bo De estuary, there are nearly 80 households. Previously, there were a few more houses outside Mr. Hai Hung's house, but due to the landslide, they all left. Standing pointing at the concrete plaques are the remnants of grade 4 houses, Mr. Hai Hung said that in the past, there was Border Fort outside, but was swept away by waves. So will these pieces of concrete and the house he lives in will share the same fate.
Recently, the water has risen, the big waves have bared to the house. Mr. Hai Hung has planned to move, but he has no place to go. He plans to bring the living things in to relatives' homes and then count on. Mr. Hung is very worried that because the rainy season has come, his family can become the next victim of the landslide at any time.
From the beginning of the year up to now, Can Tho City has suffered a loss of about VND 16 billion due to landslide (Photo: Pham Hai).
Ca Mau province has more than 250 km of coastline. Previously, according to the natural law, the sea kept falling and accreting. However, for many years now, most of the coastline of the province has been eroded and not deposited. Currently, 80% of the coastline of "Land at the end of the sky" is being eroded, losing about 20m / year, especially in some places, the landslide lost 50 meters / year. The situation of coastal erosion also took place in 7/7 provinces with coastlines of the Mekong Delta. The whole region has a coastline of about 700 km, stretching from Tien Giang to Kien Giang. Many places are eroded, "silver sea" encroach on "golden forest" day and night. As in Ben Tre province with 60 km of coastline, one third of the coastline is seriously threatened by landslides.
River erosion in An Giang province has been continuously happening recently. (Photo: Phan Anh)
The situation of landslide in the coastal provinces of the Mekong Delta is difficult, while the provinces located in the core of the region are also "fidgety" due to riverbank landslides. Mr. Phan Thanh Son's family (in Long Hoa ward, Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city) has been here for several decades. In the past, his house was tens of meters from the riverbank. Over the past few years, river bank erosion has been complicated, part of the land along the river corridor has been lost, the road in front of his house has also been lying under the river. Until now, landslide has eaten into the land in the "red book" of the family, the river bank is only a few steps from his house. The house at the level 4 of Mr. Son's family, which is just as frugal to build, now has cracks, which will soon be "swallowed up" by the public. At present, Mr. Son's family does not dare to stay home, furniture has moved and the family's small business is also interrupted.
Statistics of Can Tho city function show that, in the first 6 months of this year, the locality recorded 27 points of landslide, estimated damage of more than 16 billion VND. It is worth mentioning, if in the past, landslides often happened when the rainy season came, but now they are complicated in the dry season. For example, a serious landslide against the O Mon river bank (Thoi An ward, O Mon district, Can Tho city) occurred in early April, right at the peak of the dry season. The landslide was even more serious in An Giang province, when at the beginning of January this year, two consecutive landslides and riverbank fissures occurred on Highway 91, the section passing Binh Tan hamlet (Binh My commune, Chau Phu district).
Tien Giang and Ben Tre also suffered heavy damage by landslide and riverbank subsidence. (Photo: Nhat Truong)
According to the Steering Committee for Responding to Climate Change - Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue in An Giang province, from the beginning of the year until now, there have been 15 points of landslide, subsidence and soil rift in An Giang province. The erosion in the area has more and more strata, regardless of the dry or rainy season, the level of erosion is getting more serious and the damage is increasing. Also on Highway 91, the section passing Binh Tan hamlet (Binh My commune, Chau Phu district) on May 27, a section of the road more than 40 meters long was blown into the Hau river, threatening 81 households. 27 households have to relocate urgently. Households living in these landslide "hot spots" always live in a troubled situation. Mr. Nguyen Van Bo, people living in the area, said that landslides can happen at any time, people here "like sitting on fire" waiting for solutions from authorities.
The frequency of landslides in the Mekong Delta is increasing and the damage is increasing, so people are very worried. (Photo: Pham Hai).
"People are now very confused, up to now, they are still afraid. In the district and province, there is a plan to relocate people in this landslide area but today has not seen anything" - Mr. Nguyen Van Bo said.
If in the previous years, landslides in the Mekong Delta only occurred in large sections of rivers, now, landslides occur consecutively in rivers and small canals. In Tien Giang province, in the past, landslides often happened along the Tien River. Over the past few years, many landslides occurred along canals in the islets and dunes. Many new landslides on Canal 28 (Cai Be district), Rach Gam river, Phu Phong (Chau Thanh district), Ba Rai river (Cai Lay district) have been recorded with an increasingly large scale. At the beginning of Ngu Hiep isle - a landslide "hot spot" in Cai Lay district, local people actively reinforce the riverbank, but landslides often recur. Mr. Nguyen Duy Khuong, a resident of Ngu Hiep commune, said that the illegal sand exploitation in the area near the shore has not been prevented; At the same time, recently, the saltwater intrusion deeply caused the coastal water hyacinth clusters to completely die, so the breakwater ability decreased, leading to more landslides.
The situation of river and coastal erosion in the Mekong Delta has been very difficult over the past time. Currently, the situation is somewhat more complicated with more erosion and more serious damage. The landslides occurring all year round have been and still are directly affecting people's lives, assets and livelihoods./.