VietNamNet Bridge - HCM City authorities have begun four projects for relocating 2,200 families living in areas seriously threatened by landslides during the storm season.

Two of them are in the outlying Can Gio District. Four hundred families living on river banks and along Thach An island will be moved inland. In Binh Khanh, An Thoi Dong, Ly Nhon, Tam Thon Hiep, and Long Hoa Communes, 1,400 families will be moved out of riverside, seaside, and low-lying areas and protective forests will be planted there.

The two other projects are in Nha Be District. A VND39 billion (US$1.9 million) relocation plan will see 118 households in Long Thoi Commune move away from a 3.86-ha area along a river.

Another 300 families living on a 10-ha area along a river in Phuoc Loc Commune will be moved out at a cost of VND92 billion.

The two districts have acquired and cleared the required lands well in time and will begin the relocation soon.

“Besides relocating the families, the city has also strengthened weak and poorly built embankments that allowed the river to overflow during high tides in Districts Thu Duc, Binh Thanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, and 12,” Le Thanh Liem, director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said.

City authorities have called for quickly completing work on the Ben Nghe-Tau Hu and Tham Luong-Ben Cat-Nuoc Len Canals and the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal environmental sanitation work.

Le Hoang Quan, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said officials should not be complacent but always be ready to cope with natural disasters which could occur at any time.

“HCM City is not immune to tsunamis and earthquakes,” he warned.

“The Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention has been ordered to quickly inspect the city’s safety during natural disasters to minimise losses to people.”

The city’s Steering Center for the Urban Flood Control Programme has inspected 156 embankments and recommended that the People’s Committee approve 60 embankment projects to prevent high tides in 10 districts at a cost VND157 billion ($7.66 million).

Source: VNS