Erosion occurred along a length of 70 metres of the Châu Đốc River in An Giang Province’s An Phú Town on June 5. – VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Sang

AN GIANG – The An Giang Province People’s Committee on June 24 declared an erosion emergency in the Châu Đốc River in An Phú Town.

Erosion along the eastern bank of the river in the town’s An Thạnh Hamlet in An Phú District has damaged houses and threatened people’s safety recently.

On June 5 around 70 metres of land, extending 15 metres inland, fell into the river along with two houses, and four other houses were damaged partially.

The eroded area is along a bend and in a narrow section of the river, which are said to be the main causes along with the wash of boats and the illegal construction of houses on the banks.

The erosion is expected to continue in the area and affect houses, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The province People’s Committee has instructed the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DoNRE) to put up boards warning of extremely dangerous erosion and install safety barriers.

DoNRE will be responsible for monitoring the erosion situation and proposing intervention measures.

The People’s Committee has instructed the Department of Transport to regulate transport in the area. 

It has called on the An Phú District People’s Committee to closely monitor the erosion situation and promptly move people and property out of danger areas.

The district has faced a severe threat of erosion along its rivers and canals in recent years.

It has suffered 45 cases of erosion along a total length of 2.5 km in the last three years that destroyed nine houses and damaged seven others, while another 76 households had to be moved to safer areas.

On June 15 the province People’s Committee declared an emergency in the Ông Chưởng Canal in Chợ Mới District after 50 metres along Provincial Road 946 were eroded. Two metres of the road slipped into the canal, affecting transport.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province, in all, had 61 cases of erosion affecting a length of 3.3 km along rivers and canals last year, up 13 from 2019, according to its Steering Committee for Climate Change Response, Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, and Search and Rescue.

They caused losses of VNĐ7.3 billion (US$316,000) and forced 119 households to relocate to safety. – VNS