Authorities in Vinh Long Province, southern Vietnam have declared a local state of emergency on account of serious riverbank erosion in Vung Liem District, the Office of the provincial People’s Committee said on Wednesday.

Erosion struck a bank of the Mang Thit River in Tan An Luong Commune in the early hours of June 7, with the affected section measuring 60 meters long and some eight meters deep.

Another 205-meter-long swathe of the riverbank is at high risk of collapsing.

The riverbank erosion did not cause human damage but upended daily the activities and production of 13 local households.

Among them, two households had their prefabricated houses, fences, and embankments collapse.

The property damage caused by the erosion totaled some VND500 million (US$19,700).

The provincial administration asked the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to closely monitor the development of the incident and adopt urgent response measures to minimize its damage.

Authorities in Vung Liem informed local residents of the riverbank erosion and response measures, called on those living in the affected area to relocate, and assigned a task force to fence in the erosion-hit area.

These agencies were told to quickly report further developments of the riverbank erosion to the provincial steering committee for natural disaster prevention and control, as well as work out plans to support the impacted residents.

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