VietNamNet Bridge - Landslides in the Mekong Delta have occurred in over 560 riverside and coastal areas with a total length of 786 kilometers. These include 42 serious landslide-stricken areas, 148 kilometers in length, that need urgent treatment to save people’s lives and assets.

A report from Ca Mau provincial authorities showed that riverside erosion in the province is becoming more unpredictable, especially in the districts of Nam Can, Dam Doi and Ngoc Hien.

Twenty-two landslide cases have occurred so far this year in a total length of 583 meters, causing damages worth VND1.33 billion. In May alone, 20 landslide cases occurred with damages worth VND1.08 billion.

According to Nguyen Long Hoai from the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Fighting, there are many ‘hot spots’ where landslides occur regularly. 

These include four ‘hot spots’ in Dam Doi district with length of 1,120 meters, 10 spots in Nam Can and 13 in Ngoc Hien districts.

Landslides in the Mekong Delta have occurred in over 560 riverside and coastal areas with a total length of 786 kilometers. These include 42 serious landslide-stricken areas, 148 kilometers in length, that need urgent treatment to save people’s lives and assets.

Chair of Dat Mui commune in Ngoc Hien district Vo Cong Truong confirmed that many landslide cases had occurred recently, while predicting that the situation would be very complicated as it is now the rainy season. 

Most recently, a landslide on June 13 caused three home appliance shops to collapse into a waterway, causing damages worth VND1 billion.

In Can Tho City, nine landslide spots were found in the first five months of the year with the total affected length of 368 meters, which caused VND31 billion worth of damage. 

In 2011, Can Tho had 24 landslide sites. In 2018, the figure is 100. O Mon district is the worst hit. The latest landslide in May caused more than 10 houses to drift away and damaged another 20 houses.

Commenting about the landslides, Duong Van Ni from Can Tho University said in the past, the riverbank landslides occurred mostly in rainy season, when the water flow from the upper Mekong River became strong. But in recent years, the landslides mostly occurred in dry season.

Agreeing with Ni, Nguyen Huu Thien, an independent expert on Mekong Delta’s ecosystem, said Mekong Delta is now short of alluvium because alluvium is blocked by hydropower dams on the upper course. It also lacks sand because of overexploitation.

Over the last three years, declarations about the state of emergency related to landslides have been made by An Giang and Dong Thap provincial authorities. 

In fact, the landslides have been attacking many areas in Mekong Delta, from Tien and Hau riverside areas, sea dykes, national highways and provincial roads, to rural roads and coastal forests.