The damage has rendered the route unsafe, hampering both transportation and relief efforts for flood-affected communities.
Provincial Road 543D, also known as the Muong Xen–Ta Do–Khe Kien route, stretches nearly 60 kilometers, with a total investment of approximately VND600 billion (US$22.9 million). The road was officially inaugurated and opened to traffic in late 2023.
Running parallel to the Nam Mo River, Provincial Road 543D connects the center of Ky Son District in Nghe An Province to several remote communes, including Ta Ca, Muong Ai, Muong Tip, and formerly Nam Can. It is widely regarded as one of the most scenic routes in western Nghe An.
On August 6, many landslides were reported along the road, with several sections suffering severe erosion and overhanging collapse stretching for more than a kilometer.
At kilometer marker 89, the Nam Mo River has eroded deep into the riverbank, wiping out a stretch of road several dozen meters long. In some areas, only a narrow path remains, barely wide enough for a motorbike to pass.
Local authorities have deployed machinery to carve out a temporary bypass along the mountainside, aiming to restore basic access for residents and aid convoys heading to the center of Muong Tip Commune.
Photographs taken by Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper on the morning of August 6 reveal extensive landslides and severe degradation along Provincial Road 543D, a result of the historic floods that struck the region in late July:
