The Provincial Road No. 946 along the Ong Chuong Canal in Long Kien Commune in An Giang Province’s Cho Moi District was eroded 40 metre long and 4 metre wide last Wednesday.  – VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Sang

The delta is entering the rainy season, which can cause more erosion, especially as rains and storms combine with high tides.

An Giang Province saw 50 metres of land being eroded in two places in Cho Moi District’s Kien An and Long Kien communes last Wednesday.

In Long Kien, a part of a house fell into the Ong Chuong Canal as a result.

The district had earlier suffered erosion in four cases affecting a total length of 150 metres in Kien Thanh and My An communes on May 25, badly affecting transportation.

In Vinh Long Province, a 70 metre long and 20 metre wide section of the Co Chien River dyke in Long Ho District’s An Binh Commune was washed away on Tuesday, affecting one fish farming pond and 40 floating fish cages.

Ho The Nhu, head of the district Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said work is being carried out to repair the eroded site and evaluate losses to local households.

The Soc Trang Province People’s Committee on May 25 declared an erosion emergency in the Rach Phung River and three river islets in the Hau River in Ke Sach District.

The islets are My Phuoc in Nhon My Commune and An Tan and An Cong in An Lac Tay Commune. 

Ke Sach is one of Soc Trang’s districts most severely affected by river erosion in recent years, averaging two kilometres a year in recent years and affecting roads, orchards and houses.

The district has had 13 erosion cases with a total length of 525 metres along river embankments and river-side roads, 15 erosion cases with a total length of 714 metres in river islets this year, causing a total property damage of VND7 billion (US$305,000).

After each time, they would mobilise people to repair erosion sites, but things are only worsening, according to local authorities.

“Erosion along river banks and coast in the province has become complicated in scale and impact, and can occur any time,” said Huynh Ngoc Nha, director of the Soc Trang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The department has called on the province People’s Committee to instruct localities to assess the erosion situation and adopt preventive measures.

In Can Tho, a centrally run city, there have been six cases of erosion this year that caused a house and parts of 25 others to slip into rivers and canals.

Nguyen Ngoc He, deputy chairman of the Can Tho People’s Committee, said the city has many sites severely threatened by erosion, especially during the rainy season.

The People’s Committee would ask the Government for funds to mitigate the threat and relocate households in danger to safer areas, he said.

The city Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue has petitioned the People’s Committee to seek VNĐ252 billion ($10.9 million) for four river embankment projects in Binh Thuy, Thot Not and Phong Dien districts.

The delta needs around VND8.1 trillion ($352 million) to shore up 76 seriously eroded sites with a total length of 140 kilometres along rivers and coasts, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Over the past decade serious erosion has been caused along rivers, canals and coasts because of human and natural factors in the delta, the country’s largest rice, fruit and seafood producer.

MARD has sought VND6.6 trillion ($287 million) from the government for the delta to fix 156.9 kilometres of sites including those slightly eroded.

It is also assessing the erosion situation in the delta.

It is also creating data about the delta’s existing embankment system.  

VNS

Mekong Delta needs over US$346 mln to tackle severe landslides

The Mekong Delta's localities need around VND8,143 billion (US$352 million) to cope with 76 severe landslide and erosion points along the riverside and coastal areas with a total length of 140 kilometers.  

Land erosion worsens in the Mekong Delta

The damage caused by landslides in the Mekong Delta provinces has been increasing yearly.