Houses along Vàm Xoáy estuary in Cà Mau Province’s Ngọc Hiểu District are threatened by erosion. — VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Thế Anh

HCM CITY — A number of provinces in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta facing serious erosion along rivers and coastal areas are taking measures to protect the land and people in the area. 

The provinces are Long An, the two upstream provinces of An Giang and Đồng Tháp, and the coastal provinces of Bến Tre, Sóc Trăng and Cà Mau.

Long An Province has declared an urgent erosion situation along the Cần Giuộc River along a length of 2.4 kilometres in Cần Giuộc District.

Phạm Văn Cảnh, vice chairman of the Long An Province People’s Committee, has asked local authorities to ban people from entering eroded areas.

Local authorities should also help locals move to safe areas and take urgent measures to prevent erosion, he said.  

In Sóc Trăng Province, seven dangerous eroded areas exist along rivers in Mỹ Xuyên, Long Phú, Kế Sách and Cù Lao Dung districts, Vĩnh Châu Town and Sóc Trăng City.

The erosion area at the Rạch Lọp River section in Kế Sách District and erosion areas at the Hậu and Saintard rivers in Long Phú District are especially dangerous.  

Sóc Trăng Province has an especially dangerous eroded area along a coastal section that runs from the border with Bạc Liêu Province to Sluice Gate No. 4 in Vĩnh Châu Town. 

The Sóc Trăng Province People’s Committee has told local authorities to take urgent measures, including building submerged embankments and revetments to protect dikes.

The province has had more than 30 erosion cases so far this year, causing property damage worth hundreds of millions of đồng.

Bến Tre Province has 112 eroded areas with a total length of 140 kilometres along rivers and coast. 

Of these, four eroded areas with a total length of nearly seven kilometres along rivers and coastal areas need urgent protection.

The four eroded areas are in Ba Tri, Thạnh Phú and Bình Đại districts and Bến Tre City.

Cao Văn Trọng, chairman of the Bến Tre Province People’s Committee, said that people should move their property out of the eroded areas.

The localities should set up warning boards and barriers to prevent people and vehicles from travelling into the eroded areas, he said.

In Cà Mau Province, more than 25 kilometres of estuaries and coast and 1.2 kilometres of rivers need urgent measures, according to the province’s People’s Committee.

The eroded areas are especially dangerous, directly affecting residential areas, administrative areas, education and healthcare facilities, and National Highway No. 1A and protection forests.

The erosion situation at Vàm Xoáy estuary in Ngọc Hiển District, for instance, is complicated and protection forests at the estuary have lost about 80-100 metres of land each year.  

The Cà Mau Province People’s Committee has decided to build erosion-prevention embankments at Vàm Xoáy, Rạch Gốc and Hóc Năng estuaries in Ngọc Hiển District and Hố Gùi estuary locating between Năm Căn and Đầm Dơi districts.

It will also build several embankments along canals in Ngọc Hiển and Năm Căn districts.

The Cà Mau Province People’s Committee has petitioned the Government to support the province with VNĐ74 billion (US$3.18 million) for projects to protect its western sea dyke, property and local residents.  VNS