Landslide warning and fundamental solutions - Final article: Review and sustainable master plan

Photo caption — Scene of the landslide at Thuong Thoi Tien embankment (in Thuong Phuoc commune, Dong Thap province) at noon on August 12, 2025. Photo: VNA

Emergency embankment projects and landslide prevention works are being prioritized for investment with capital of hundreds of billions of VND, in parallel with reviewing, planning, and tightening management of riverside activities. The goal is to proactively respond to natural disasters, limit damage, and gradually put landslide prevention and control work on a sustainable track, linked to local socio -economic development.

Urgent remedy

With the serious landslide situation, the Chairman of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee has decided to declare an emergency situation of landslide on the Tien River bank in the Thuong Thoi Tien embankment area; and declare an emergency situation of landslide on the Tien River bank at Nguyen Huong Street (Tan Tich hamlet and Tinh Hung hamlet), Cao Lanh Ward. Recently, the Chairman of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee has signed and issued 2 Decisions on issuing an Order to build urgent works for the Project to urgently overcome landslide on the Tien River bank in the Thuong Thoi Tien embankment area and issuing an Order to build urgent works for the Project to urgently overcome landslide on the Tien River bank at Nguyen Huong Street.

The construction period of these two projects is from the date of issuance of the Emergency Construction Order to December 31, 2026. Dong Thap province has requested the Ministry of Finance to synthesize and submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and support of capital from the central budget (about 830 billion VND) to urgently handle the two serious landslide areas on the Tien River bank mentioned above in Thuong Phuoc commune and Cao Lanh ward.

For the Thuong Thoi Tien Embankment area, the Department will restore the structure of the project as in the design phase; reinforce the erosion holes with sandbags and lay stone carpets. The Department also requested the province to consider adjusting and supplementing the length of emergency landslide repair in accordance with the landslide developments and landslide risks. For the landslide area on the Tien River bank at Nguyen Huong Street (Cao Lanh Ward), in the immediate future, 2 whirlpool holes at 2 landslide locations will be filled with sandbags on a geotextile base to limit landslides; reinforce and repair landslides and subsidence with sandbags and lay stone carpets.

The construction of these two emergency projects aims to promptly overcome and proactively prevent landslides and subsidence of the Tien River bank, promptly ensuring the safety of people's lives and property and businesses, the safety of natural disaster prevention works, technical infrastructure systems and people's traffic.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Thinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Thap province, said: Through field surveys, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has compiled and classified, thereby proposing immediate and long-term solutions to overcome the situation of landslides and subsidence in the province.

For landslides and riverbank collapses affecting people's traffic and agricultural production embankments and dikes, the People's Committees at the commune level have proposed plans/budgets to handle and overcome landslides. The Department of Agriculture and Environment has proposed to assign the Project Management Board to invest in construction of landslide locations on large and medium-sized canals into 26 lists of works (46 landslide locations), with a repair length of about 3,650 m, estimated repair cost of about 105.096 billion VND. At the same time, the People's Committees of communes and wards are assigned to fix about 22 landslide locations on intra-field canals with a repair length of about 7,277 m, estimated repair cost of about 32.248 billion VND.

For 6 Lists of projects (6 landslide and subsidence locations) to overcome landslides in large rivers with complex and large-scale landslide developments, the Department of Agriculture and Environment proposed to allocate funds from public investment capital for the period 2026-2030. The People's Committees of communes and wards are requested to preside over and coordinate with the Regional Project Management Board and relevant units to survey and propose appropriate landslide remediation plans, ensuring efficiency and savings, and submit them to the Department of Finance for synthesis and advice to the Provincial People's Committee to arrange the list and funding for remediation.

For 24 landslide and riverbank subsidence points affecting people's traffic and embankments and dikes protecting agricultural production, no plan/budget has been proposed to handle and overcome landslides. The Department of Agriculture and Environment requests the People's Committee at the commune level to preside over and coordinate with the Regional Project Management Board and relevant units to survey and propose a plan to handle and overcome landslides suitable to the local reality, ensuring efficiency and savings; the Department of Agriculture and Environment will synthesize and continue to propose to the Provincial People's Committee in the next phase.

Proactive prevention

In the long term, in order to help localities proactively handle landslides (regardless of large or small landslides), the Department of Agriculture and Environment recommends that the Department of Finance advise the People's Committee of Dong Thap province on guidelines for the process of financial support for localities to prevent, respond to and overcome the consequences of natural disasters, especially with proactive prevention and control of landslides and subsidence of river banks, canals and ditches in Dong Thap province.

In addition, in order to strengthen the handling of violations of the protection scope of irrigation works, dykes, natural disaster prevention and control, and inspect and organize the cleaning of weeds and water hyacinth to ensure the clear maintenance of canals and ditches in the province, limiting riverbank erosion, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has advised the Provincial People's Committee on the directive document No. 1961/SNN&MT-CCTL dated August 19, 2025, and is also drafting a Decision on Regulations on decentralization of management, exploitation, protection and the scope of the surrounding areas of irrigation works and dykes in Dong Thap province.

Mr. Tran Tri Quang, Chairman of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee, said that with the natural conditions of Dong Thap, the Tien River flows along it, and when the water level rises during the flood season, riverbank erosion occurs. The province has also directed the relevant sectors to review the erosion situation to proactively respond. Previously, the province had a project to assess the erosion situation of the Tien River banks to have a long-term solution.

At the same time, the province has directed the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to urgently submit to the Provincial People's Committee a long-term solution for local landslides as well as the entire Tien River. Especially when the floodwaters recede, creating a height difference between the water level and the riverbank, there is a possibility of further landslides at other locations along the Tien River.

Due to the urgency of the landslide areas, the People's Committee of Dong Thap province proposed that the Ministry of Finance synthesize and submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and support funding from the central budget reserve in 2025 or the medium-term period of 2026-2030 and consider arranging immediately in 2026 to implement 2 embankment projects to protect dangerous and urgent landslide areas with a total investment of about 830 billion VND. On that basis, the locality will fully carry out procedures, deploy construction investment in accordance with current regulations and disburse capital within the prescribed time, ensuring the investment efficiency of the project.

At the working session with the Government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh on October 18, the leaders of Dong Thap Provincial People's Committee proposed that the Government and central ministries support Dong Thap in prioritizing capital for key regional transport projects; projects to overcome riverbank erosion on Tien River and Go Cong coast.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/bao-dong-tinh-trang-sat-lo-va-giai-phap-can-co-bai-cuoi-ra-soat-quy-hoach-tong-the-ben-vung-20251025110444843.htm