Authorities in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa conducted a mock drill on landslide preparedness on Friday in Khanh Vinh District, with the participation of close to 1,000 people and vehicles.

The mock exercise simulated severe landslides caused by extreme rainfall in the district’s Khanh Phu Commune.

Right after a landslide hit a village called Son Thanh, authorities dispatched a vehicle equipped with loudspeakers to the area to order the evacuation of local inhabitants.

The drill also included a scenario in which some affected residents approved of the evacuation while some others said no.

Also, the hypothetical evacuation efforts were challenging as the victims included the elderly, children, or several residents took bulky items along with them.

After all the villagers were relocated to a safe place, a major landslide struck the eastern part of Suoi Xuyen Mountain in the commune, burying 20 homes.

Traffic police officers were called to the scene to regulate the flow of traffic, while other competent forces launched a search and rescue operation.

Within one hour, the forces completed the evacuation of the victims and provided medical treatment to the injured.

An aerial view of the scene of a mountain landslide response drill in Khanh Phu Commune, Khanh Vinh District, Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam, June 14, 2024. Photo: Thanh Chuong

A team of health workers sterilized and cleaned up the scene of the mountain landslide.

As one of the participants in the drill, Cao Thi Chen, a 43-year-old resident of Khanh Phu, said she had to get up very early in the morning to come to the venue of the drill.

The local woman hailed the drill as a necessary activity, as it helped her and other residents know additional measures to cope with mountain landslides.

Le Thanh Tuan from the Son Thanh village also underlined the need to conduct a landslide response drill like this, explaining that this mountainous village is prone to landslides.

According to Nguyen Tan Tuan, vice-chairman of the provincial administration, the Khanh Vinh District authorities need to review their performance in the drill and create further scenarios on natural disaster prevention and control.

Rescuers take household items of landslide-hit residents out of the scene of the incident. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!