The erosion happened along the Ong Chuong river

The information was revealed in the morning of August 2 by Luong Huy Khanh, office manager of the provincial Steering Committee on Climate Change, Search and Rescue.

The An Giang People’s Committee instructed concerned organisations to conduct immediate measures to protect the affected area along the Ong Chuong River.

Specifically, the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment was asked to round up high-risk areas, build a safety corridor and keep a close watch on it.

The Cho Moi district People’s Committee must move residents and their property out of dangerous areas, assign workers to go on patrol and keep public order there.

The Department of Transport will erect more warning signs in the area along roads and waterways. It must have plans to minimise erosion.

At the beginning of this month, erosion occurred along the banks of the Ong Chuong River in Long Hoa 1 village, Long Kien commune. The eroded part was more than 150m in length and nearly 2m in width.

To ensure traffic safety on Road 946, the An Giang Department of Transport issued a warning to limit trucks over five tonnes. Waterway vehicles must reduce their speed while on the Ong Chuong River to avoid worsening the erosion.

Erosion also occurred on July 31 night on Highway 91 passing Binh Tan village, Binh My commune, Chau Phu district in the province.

From July 31 midnight to early morning on August 1, a 85-m long section of the highway fell into the Hau River, according to the An Giang Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

No casualties were reported.

Two households were safely moved from the area.

Mekong Delta suffers from coastal erosion, landslides

Erosion along a bank of O Mon River in Can Tho city

Provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have suffered land erosion for decades, with hundreds of hectares being washed away along with many houses.

According to figures released at a conference on solutions for landslides along coasts, river banks and embankments in the delta held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ca Mau in April, there have been 562 cases in the region involving a total length of 786km.

Every year 300-500ha of land are lost to water.

Reports from the Long An Province Committee for Disaster Prevention and Fighting show that in the first half of this year eight houses were destroyed and seven others toppled into the Vam Co Tay river.

Provincial authorities have asked the Government for funds for urgent tasks such as a 300m embankment along a section of the Vam Co Tay in Loi Binh Nhom commune in Tan An town, an embankment in Nhut Ninh commune in Tan Tru district and resettling 138 households in Thanh Vinh Dong commune in Chau Thanh district.

A delegation from An Giang province led by the People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Thanh Binh inspected a section of National Highway No 91 in Binh My commune, Chau Phu district, which faces the risk of sliding into the Hau river.

Binh instructed relevant authorities in the district and commune to move people living in the area to safety and install traffic signs to warn drivers of the danger.

According to the Ca Mau provincial People’s Committee, 105km of coast in both the eastern and western parts face the risk of landslides.

The eastern coast loses 50-100 metres to the sea and the western coast, 20-50 metres.

The landslides also cause Ca Mau to lose vast areas of protective forests and take away job opportunities.

Le Minh Luan, who lives in the Bo De Estuary in Tam Giang Dong commune of Nam Can district, said 20 years ago his family was among those living in a hamlet some 200m from the sea.

But the sea eroded the area in the last few years and all households in the hamlet were forced to evacuate, he said.

The place was so badly affected that his family in fact had to evacuate twice in the last three years.