A stretch of Highway 91 next to the Hau River in the Mekong Delta’s An Giang Province experienced a severe landslide early on March 22, narrowing the road’s surface from 11 meters wide earlier, to just one meter now.
Although the section, running through Binh My Commune of Chau Phu District, has been consolidated with rocks and iron stakes, the river’s fast-running water has continued to swallow large chunks of land.
The road is now in danger of being swallowed completely as several large cracks have also occurred in the remaining section.
Dozens of homes in the area are also at risk of falling into the river while traffic has come to a complete standstill.
According to local residents, it was lucky the sudden erosion occurred in the early morning, when there weren’t many vehicles traveling on the highway.
Phan Bien Cuong, deputy chairman of the An Giang Province People’s Committee, said thousands of vehicles travel the busy roadway daily to visit Ba Chua Xu Temple in Chau Doc District.
Officials have guided traffic to other routes to get to Chau Doc while provincial authorities are seeking measures to deal with the problem.
Households living near the landslide section may be evacuated to repair and rebuild the road.
