Flood is seen on the Thu Bồn River. Đà Nẵng City has allocated an emergency fund of VNĐ500 billion (US$20 million) in building river and sea dyke systems in protection of lowland and beach zone from severe erosions in a section of Thu Bồn River and Cửa Đại beach. — VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — Đà Nẵng authorities have allocated an emergency fund of VNĐ500 billion (nearly US$19 million) to build river and sea dike systems protecting lowland and beach zones from severe erosion, particularly near the Thu Bồn River and Cửa Đại Beach.

The central city said the fund will be used to build a 1.5km concrete dike and embankment section in Duy Nghĩa Commune, which was damaged by historic floods and landslides last year, and another 2km on the popular Cửa Đại Beach in the old town Hội An.

Half of the total fund will be reserved to protect the section of beach section that has been worst-hit with heavy erosion caused by climate change and rising sea levels over the past few decades, according to city authorities.

Cửa Đại Beach, one of 25 beaches recognised as the most beautiful in Asia and one of the most visited destinations in Hội An, has undergone continuous erosion in recent years. The beach has moved inland by around 100m, with damage extending to seafront property and other coastal communes.

A concrete dike system on Hội An's An Bàng Beach has been damaged by large waves and high sea levels during the annual flood season. — VNS Photo Công Thành

Despite of a series of solutions, from pumping sand in to replenish the beach and building embankments and underground channels half a metre below sea level, Hội An's 7km-long coastline is still at risk of disappearing from the global tourism map.

More than US$85.5 million was spent on building soft embankments from geotextile and geotube fabric bags, as well as reinforced concrete embankments, from 2010 to 2015. However, these projects were not enough, as the coast continues to sustain damage and erosion as it gets battered with increasingly severe storms.

Authorities of the former Quảng Nam Province (now merged into Đà Nẵng) have invested 42 million euros (VNĐ1.3 trillion, or $45.3 million) in infrastructure, underground dikes and soil replenishment projects with funding from the French Development Agency as well as non-refundable aid from the EU and local funds since 2024.

A report from Hội An revealed that large waves and rising sea levels had washed away an area of 20ha on Cửa Đại Beach between 2009 and 2014.

French-Vietnamese architect Bùi Kiến Quốc has previously blamed the erosion on the construction of resorts on the beach and the lack of proper environmental assessments before dredging occurred in the estuary.

Sand bags are used to protect a section of An Bàng beach from erosion. A large area of the beach in Hội An has been washed away by flooding, waves and rising sea levels. — VNS Photo Công Thành

The worst erosion recorded on the Đà Nẵng coast in the past 10 years has been connected to the rapid development of beach hotels and resorts and a lack of natural, 'green’ dikes, including forests and reefs.

Experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature have warned that serious erosion of the coastline in the region is caused by rising sea levels, poor management of the Vu Gia - Thu Bồn river system and rapid urbanisation. — VNS