PHÚ THỌ — Landslides continue to take place along the Thao River in Tam Nông District of Phú Thọ Province, northern Việt Nam, damaging the property of residents and endangering their lives.

Serious landslides spread over kilometres were recorded along the river section from Hương Nộn Commune to Hưng Hóa Town and from Tam Cường Commune to Cổ Tiết Commune.

Trần Thị Dung, a resident of Hương Nộn Commune, said landslides since 2015 have caused a large area of land used to grow crops and other lands of locals to be submerged.

“My house foundation and walls cracked due to a landslide and there is high risk that the whole house will collapse into the river because of landslides if no action is taken,” she said.

In Hương Nha Commune, landslides are even more severe, “swallowing” many pigsties and cowsheds of residents and endangering 14 households in the commune.

Lê Văn Thành, a resident in the commune, said his house is tens of metres from the riverbank; however, his entire garden collapsed into the river due to the landslides and now his kitchen was just four metres from the riverbank.

Local authorities blame the landslides for the change in the flow of the river.

The chairman of the People’s Committee of Hương Nha Commune said serious landslides have been occurring since 2009. The commune has a 2.2km-long riverbank.

In 2011 and 2013, the provincial authorities invested in building an embankment along 800m of the riverbank to prevent landslides. However, part of the embankment collapsed into the river, he said.

“We are mobilising households in landslide-prone areas to relocate but are meeting difficulties because of the lack of capital,” he said.

Deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Trần Quốc Bình said due to limited resources, the province could only prioritise landslide-hit areas where the lives of locals and safety of dams was directly threatened.

The department urged authorities of the districts and communes and locals to actively take precautions against landslides and relocate residents when landslides occurred, he said.

The provincial authorities will check all areas threatened by landslides to implement measures to tackle the issue in a timely manner, he said. — VNS