Many landslides have been reported in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, causing heavy losses for local residents, although the region has just entered the rainy season for this year.

A serious landslide happened in Song Phung Commune, Long Phu District, Soc Trang Province, said Pham Tan Dao, head of the provincial Irrigation Department.

The incident occurred at 9:30 pm on Thursday last week when a 70-meter section of the bank of the Rach Mop River was encroached on by some 23 meters.

As a result, a riverside road as well as water and power supply systems were damaged, affecting locals’ travel and production activities.

Dao said the rainy season has just come and many cracks have been seen in the area, while the water flow in the river is strong, posing a high risk of more landslides.

Similarly, landslides are complicated in Chau Thanh and Phung Hiep Districts and Nga Bay Town in Hau Giang Province.

In the second half of May, Chau Thanh District alone experienced at least three riverside landslides, causing hundreds of meters of roads to sink into the river.

In Tien Giang Province, a section stretching some 50 meters of 54B Road along the Ba Rai River in Hoi Xuan Commune, Cai Lay District fell into the river, affecting locals’ travel.

Earlier, a landslide was also reported in the Tra Lot River in Hoa Khanh Commune, Cai Be District, Tien Giang Province, isolating dozens of households.

Nguyen Van Tien, a resident living near the landslide site, said he did not dare to sleep in his house as he was afraid of being swept away. 

Landslides along rivers and canals in Tien Giang Province have been on the rise and more serious, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Long An and An Giang provinces have faced the same fate, making life harder for residents there.

Nguyen Van Kiet, head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Division of Chau Thanh District, Hau Giang Province, cited experts as saying that landslides since early this year have been caused by water flows.

Regarding solutions, Kiet said the district administration will call on residents to restrict the building of houses in areas at high risk of landslides.

Tien Giang Province has also focused on building embankments to prevent landslides.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2022 proposed the provincial People’s Committee handle 135 landslide sites with a combined length of nearly 9,000 meters, which cost an estimated VND150 billion (US$6.4 million).

The province also developed 16 riverside and coastal embankment projects with a total length of 9.8 kilometers and a total investment of over VND517 billion ($22.2 million), sourced from the state budget.

Meanwhile, Long An Province has proposed that ministries and agencies urge the prime minister to allocate the mid-term investment for the 2023-25 period for urgent landslide response plans in the province, said Vo Kim Thuan, head of the provincial Rural Development and Irrigation Sub-Department.

In An Giang Province, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has teamed up with other agencies to survey canal sections in Cho Moi District and Long Xuyen City to discover the cause of landslides, said deputy director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment To Hoang Mon.

The department also requested districts to take the initiative in preventing such incidents.

“I have asked districts to seek ways to limit large vehicles from traveling near canals and erect warning signs in high-risk areas,” Mon added.

There are many reasons for landslides in the Mekong Delta region, according to Associate Professor Dr. Van Pham Dang Tri, head of the Research Institute for Climate Change under Can Tho University.

The increasingly extreme weather with irregular rainy and dry periods causes the ground to be weaker.

The falling volume of alluvium in rivers also elevates the risk of landslides.

More construction activities have resulted in an increase in sand mining.

“The sand mining changes the geomorphology of river beds, thus changing the water flows and leading to landslides,” Tri said.

As a result, authorities will work out appropriate solutions when a comprehensive study on the demand for sand and the status quo of river beds is available, he noted.

It is also necessary to draw up a specific plan on possible locations of residents’ housing projects instead of riverside areas, determine areas at high risk of landslides, and make recommendations.

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