According to experts, it is necessary to have fundamental solutions for landslide prevention, control, and damage reduction, including promoting reforestation to retain soil and protect residents.
As the country is moving into the rainy and stormy season, some localities are ready to evacuate residents in landslide hotspots. Chairman Vo Trung Manh of the Tu Mo Rong District People's Committee in Kon Tum Province said that in the past, the district has allocated resources to build resettlement areas to stabilize the lives of hundreds of households.
However, the local government has not been able to build resettlement buildings for people in landslide-prone areas, the district has developed a relocation plan. Under the relocation plan, the government will provide inhabitants with vehicles, supplies, food, and provisions to ensure that no one is left behind.
Meanwhile in Lam Dong Province, the Da Lat City People's Committee said that to prevent landslides during the rainy season, it has requested localities to inspect construction works, especially those located in areas with a high risk of landslides. For areas with a high risk of landslides, preventive measures such as solidification of slopes and steep slopes; prohibiting new construction or expansion of works and prompt evacuation of households to safety must be implemented.
Also in the Central Highlands region, Deputy Head Pham Tuan Anh of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Dak Nong Province said that rain and the risk of landslides have appeared in vulnerable areas in the province.
Therefore, the steering committee has requested localities to strengthen inspection and warning work for people in low-lying areas prone to flooding and vulnerable areas prone to landslides. For localities located in landslide-prone areas, localities must develop plans for response, evacuation, and relocation of people to ensure the lives and property of people.
Meanwhile, talking about the key tourist area of Ham Tien - Mui Ne, where there are many sand dunes at risk of landslides, Director Phan Duong Cuong of the Department of Construction of Binh Thuan Province said that the Phan Thiet City People's Committee already issued the warning about the danger requesting to promptly relocate people living in the area below the sand dunes.
Similarly, Chief Dang Van Hoa of the Office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Thua Thien Hue Province disclosed that there are currently 48 points in the province where landslides often occur. In particular, landslides are seen in the mountainous district of A Luoi, the Bot Do area at the foot of the hill, creating long slip marks down to the residential area, with a high risk of major landslides, directly affecting the households living in this area.
Responsibility is highlighted
Long-term measures to prevent landslides during the rainy and stormy season have also been calculated and invested by localities.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lam Dong Province, at the end of 2023, the Government supported the province with VND 280 billion (US$11,021,522) from the central budget reserve to build essential infrastructure caused by natural disasters.
Currently, the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee has allocated money to 11 projects and works, most of which focus on upgrading road sections on the National Highways 20 and 27, residential areas along streams, and riverbanks as these projects will help ensure traffic flow and stabilize people's lives.
Director Phan Muoi of the Kon Tum Provincial Department of Transport also said that the agency has directed units to maintain roads and prepare vehicles and materials so that when roads are blocked due to landslides, they are ready to mobilize machinery to clear the road as soon as possible, not to let traffic be stuck and cut off from other parts of the province.
In order to ensure the smooth operation of railways during the rainy and stormy season, to avoid landslides in railway tunnels, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Danh Huy said that the ministry is implementing a project to renovate and reinforce 11 degraded North-South railway tunnels with a budget of VND7,000 billion. In the long term, the Ministry of Transport has directed responsible units to comprehensively review all railway tunnels in the Central region, and actively grasp and handle landslide risks during the rainy season.
