Dozens of houses and a road in Ninh Kieu and Binh Thuy Districts under Can Tho City, southern Vietnam are suffering land subsidence and severe damage due to the construction of a canal embankment.

Many households residing along both banks of Ba Bo Canal in the two districts complained to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday that they live in worry owing to land subsidence resulting from embankment construction and canal dredging works.

“After building a house and renting its rooms for two months, I witnessed a road in front of the accommodation subsiding underneath some two meters,” said Trang Trieu Huan, a resident of Long Tuyen Ward in Binh Thuy District.

“The location of deep subsidence lies right in front of the gate of my house."

Subsidence and cracking on the road and many houses were detected in mid-July, Huan recounted.

Along Ba Bo Canal for 200 meters, some houses were damaged heavily, while several others are seen subsiding a few meters, according to a Tuoi Tre reporter's observation.

Many households along the canal have had to relocate to temporary residences due to a high risk of more severe subsidence.

Meanwhile, signs were put up at the locations of subsidence along the affected road to warn commuters of danger.

Employees have also suspended work on the Ba Bo Canal embankment construction and dredging project.

“No firms or units have offered compensation for the affected houses, while no measures have yet to be adopted to warn residents of subsidence and reassure locals,” said T., a resident of the affected area.

Can Tho City’s management board of ODA projects invest in the project.

The leader of the board said that given the incident, the contractor of the project is in the process of completing procedures related to insurance and working with the authorities of the two districts to recompense the affected households.

Tran Van Tam, representative of Hai Duong – Rural Development & Dike Stone Construction JSC, which is the contractor of the project, said that the firm is in charge of a five-kilometer-long embankment along Ba Bo Canal.

During the construction, land subsidence and cracking occurred at some houses, he said.

The subsidence was blamed on deep dredging that was required to meet standards, coupled with torrential rain, he explained.

The firm has worked with the affected households to discuss solutions to deal with the consequences of the subsidence and cracking, while planning to repair the road.

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