Riverbank erosion at several sites in central provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Tri following repeated floods in October and November is threatening public works and the lives of nearby residents.

But local authorities have admitted no anti-erosion initiatives are in place to manage the situation due to the shortage of capital.

The erosion of Giang riverbank in Quang Binh’s Tuyen Hoa District has put the lives of 300 households at risk. Nguyen Van Hai, a resident of Duc Hoa Commune, said water intruded into the back of his house, which seems ready to collapse into the river.

The commune authorities said they struggled to find enough land to relocate the 300 families, but they had established a plan to promptly evacuate 10 households that are most at risk in a potential landslide.

In Văn Hóa, another commune, strong river currents have claimed hectares of farming land, and the erosion is getting worse each day.

Bamboo and mangrove species grown at these sites for preventing erosion were swept away by the current.

Nguyen Van Dinh, head of the district’s economic and infrastructure development, told a local newspaper that embankment projects had been proposed for the site, but construction had been delayed due to a shortage of capital.

In Quang Tri, erosion of the Thạch Hãn riverbank is threatening the lives of 50 families in Dong Luong Ward. The ward chairman, Le Hai Dang, said five metres of erosion of the riverbank were recorded every year, but the erosion was speeding up after the floods.

Land collapsed 4m near the foot of Dai Loc Bridge, which went into operation in 2013 with a total construction cost of VNĐ60 billion (US$2.7 million). Local residents said they felt unsafe travelling on the bridge.

Nguyen Chien Thang, chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Tri’s Dong Ha City, told local newspapers that budgets allocated by the province were only adequate for the construction of a one-kilometer dyke, so no anti-erosion work had been carried out at these sites to date.

Warning boards had been erected to alert residents of the danger, he said. 

VNS