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The landslide along the section of Krong No River passing Nam Ndir Commune of Krong No District in Dak Nong Province is becoming more and more serious (Photo: SGGP) |
Along Krong No River from the communes of Buon Choah to Nam Ndir, Duc Xuyen, and Quang Phu, there are hundreds of landslide places, some of which even destroy crop land of nearby residents. The most serious location is in Nam Ninh Village in Nam Ndir Commune, where about 300m of riverbank has disappeared already without any sign of stopping. Besides taking away crop land, the landslide also harmed hundreds of meters of the in-field road here.
Not far from that, a pump station and an irrigation canal system were damaged as the river itself suddenly expanded. Head of Nam Ninh Village Dam Van Dinh informed that this landslide began a few months ago. The long heavy rain last month increased the water level of the river, and thus worsening the already terrible situation. It destroyed 30m of in-field road and 100 coffee trees of a household ready for harvesting.
Deputy Director of the Dak Nong Province Department of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Van Minh explained that these landslides stem from the weak geological formation, hydroelectric plant operation, sand exploitation, and negative effects of natural disasters.
According to Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Krong No District, the landslide along Krong No River has lasted for so many years and is becoming more and more complicated in the section passing Nam Ndir Commune. Crop land, irrigation works, and traffic facilities are on the verge of damage.
The district has proposed that both the People’s Committee of Dak Nong Province and the provincial Steering Committee Natural Disaster Prevention and Control urgently apply suitable measures to stop landslides along the riverbank as well as supporting local residents. In the long term, there should be construction of embankments to prevent similar incidents and protect the riverbank, the key food areas plus the dwellers.
Moving to Kon Tum Province, Dak Ngao 1 Irrigation Dam in Sa Thay Town (Sa Thay District) was built decades ago to provide irrigation water for farmers in Village No.3 and Village No.4 of the town. This July, about 35m of the dam unexpectedly eroded, washing away a part of the dam’s shoulder and making it unable to store water. In addition, the eucalyptus farm and production land of nearby residents were damaged.
Head of Village No.3 Vo Duy Duong shared that without irrigation water from the dam, the downstream fields can no longer grow crops while the upstream rice and coffee fields of 50 households along the stream experienced landslide when it rained.
Lung Lau 2 Irrigation Work (sited in Sa Son Commune of Sa Thay District) is showing signs of damages. The two water pipe sections of Canal N2 and Canal N6 were washed away due to heavy rain and floods. The People’s Committee of Kon Tum Province directed the Sa Thay District People’s Committee to allocate budget for repair to answer the water supply demands of local residents.
Meanwhile, dwellers of Village No.5 in Doan Ket Commune of Kon Tum City reported that Tan Dien reservoir's irrigation canal system was filled with sediment. Together with landslides, this has caused flooding to crop land. Therefore, the residents proposed urgent canal dredging to minimize further damages.
Vice Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Sam of the Kon Tum Province People’s Committee informed that the provincial Irrigation Work Management Board has cooperated with the concern localities to inspect the irrigation canal route from Tan Dien Reservoir. Reports show that in the rainy season, water from Provincial Highway No.671 and the residential areas along the road, usually with soil and rock, pours directly into the route to cause flooding, siltation, and erosion of the canal banks.
At present, to ensure sufficient irrigation water distribution, this board is going to actively dredge the affected canal. However, to completely solve the problem, the People’s Committee of Kon Tum City is asked to direct any units in charge to build drainage works for this irrigation canal so as not to negatively impact farming activities of local residents.
