VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of households in southern Ben Tre Province are unsafe, as they are located in landslide-prone areas, the provincial authority has said.

A resident in Chau Thanh District in southern Ben Tre Province stands in front of her house, which is at risk of being swept away due to landslides. — Photo danviet.vn

Officials noted that there are no land funds or financing available to help these households relocate to safe communities.

Figures from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development indicate that there are more than 8,340 households in need of being evacuated in nine districts.

Of these, Chau Thanh, Cho Lach and Mo Cay Bac have witnessed the most severe landslides.

Cao Minh Duc, deputy director of the department, said it was difficult to evacuate affected households, as there was no land available to relocate the residents.

Worse, most were of these are poor households, who are unable to purchase land where they might move, he added.

Duc said that the people's committees of Binh Dai, Giong Trom, Mo Cay Bac and Mo Cay Nam districts have asked the provincial authority to approve the project to build resettlement areas for 468 households that are particularly unsafe due to the threat of serious landslides.

However, the project has not yet been implemented due to a shortage of financing and land funds.

Another resettlement area in Cho Lach District's Vinh Binh Commune is in a similar situation, having received approval in 2013, but has not yet been built.

The provincial authority has reported the situation to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The authority has asked the ministry to allocate funds to build two resettlement areas in Cho Lach District's Vinh Binh Commune and Binh Dai District's Long Hoa Commune.

VNS