Long An: About 840 households vulnerable to riverside erosion

The garden of a local resident, Truong Van Hai, in Binh Hoa hamlet, Tan Tru town was swept away by soil erosion and fell into Vam Co River in the middle of the night last month, causing land loss of more than 40 metres in length and 6-8 metres in width and washing away ten coconut trees and many other crops. 

The soil erosion also created a 30-metre-long soil crack in the garden of Hai’s neighbour, Cao Van Dong, leaving it on the brink of sudden collapse. 

Hai said his family has been living here for generations and has never seen such dangerous erosion before. 

According to Tran Van Doc, Chairman of the district’s People’s Committee, the district has never recorded any riverside erosion. 

But now, its seven communes, including An Nhut Tan, Binh Tinh, Binh Trinh Dong, Duc Tan, Lac Tan, My Binh, Nhut Ninh and Tan Tru, with about 4,200 people, or 840 families, are vulnerable to the disaster, Doc said. 

An initial survey suggests that climate change, which might have affected the flow of the river, could be behind the issue, he noted. 

The people’s committee has mobilised the locals to plant trees and stakes to temporarily reduce the erosion while a plan is being devised to evacuate affected households.