More than 1,000 households along Gianh River in central Quang Binh Province risk being swept away in landslides due to strong tides and rising water.

Soldiers help residents of Quang Phuc Commune in the central province of Quang Binh to reinforce dikes along Gianh River.

The Tuyen Hoa District’s People’s Committee’s vice head of the Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, Nguyen Tri Phuong, said thousands of people living in 13 communes along Gianh River are being threatened as about 11.6 kilometres of land along the river show signs of landslides.

Phuong said that nearly 200 households in the worst-hit Van Hoa and Kim Hoa communes need to be evacuated to safer areas promptly in case of flooding.

Gianh River runs through the district with a total length of more than 90 kilometres.

Mai Van Can, resident in Thach Hoa Commune, where 100 metres of road has tumbled into the river following Storm Ketsana, said he was afraid that his house might collapse if the situation worsened.

In Quang Trach, the river has eaten away 20 metres of land with a length of between 1 and 3 kilometres in 16 communes. Nearly 820 households across 20 erosion spots in the district need to be moved to alternative areas.

Nguyen Van Doan, resident in the district’s Quang Hai Commune said about 15 metres of his garden has eroded in the past two years.

“I know it’s dangerous to keep living here, but I don’t have enough money to move, and I don’t know where to move,” Doan said.

The local authorities have said that it’s urgent to move households in the high-risk landslide areas out of danger and have reported the situation to the provincial authorities. However, shortage of financial resources is a major problem.

Dau Minh Ngoc, chairman of Quang Trach District’s People’s Committee said local authorities and people were using bamboo to avoid erosion, but it was only a temporary measure.

“Embankment is the best solution, but it requires a huge amount of money - tens of billions of dong - to do the job,” Ngoc said.

The Tuyen Hoa District’s People’s Committee’s representative, Phuong, said it’s necessary to move all affected households to a new place to settle down, but these households are mostly poor while the amount of money needed is rather large.

“Rescue teams will be ready to evacuate people and property out of danger in case of flooding as an initial solution,” Phuong said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News