Protecting century-old relics from natural disasters

Hue City has just announced a natural disaster emergency at the site of a collapsed section of the citadel wall belonging to the Hue Imperial City relic site, where a 14-meter-long section of wall was destroyed by floodwaters.

A 14m long section of the Hue Imperial City wall collapsed due to floods - Photo: NHAT LINH

Immediately after declaring the emergency situation, the People's Committee of Hue City requested functional forces to mobilize people and vehicles to closely monitor the situation at the scene, promptly reinforce and brace locations at risk of collapse, and at the same time delineate dangerous areas, put up warning signs and arrange guards to guide people and tourists to ensure safety.

In addition to the Hue Imperial City, four floods in less than a month caused many other monuments such as the tombs of Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, and Duc Duc to be submerged 1-1.7 meters deep. The Poetry Library - where precious documents are stored - was also submerged more than 1 meter deep.

Authorities, staff of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center and local residents have urgently pumped water, reinforced with sandbags and flood-proof materials to protect the monument and ensure safety for visitors.

The collapse of the citadel wall of the Hue Imperial City relic is a serious incident caused by natural disasters and also a wake-up call for the need to have a plan to protect the safety of century-old relics in the face of increasingly irregular and dense natural disasters and floods.

Cultural researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa - former director of the Department of Culture and Information of the former Thua Thien Hue province, said it was time for the Hue Monuments Conservation Center to conduct a comprehensive inspection and review of the status of the monuments under its management to have a plan for restoration and embellishment, especially to repair even the smallest damage.

According to Mr. Hoa, currently, relics are only restored when they have fallen into a state of serious degradation. Restoration projects must be approved by many competent authorities, so small damages can be overlooked but the consequences are very large, possibly causing damage or even the collapse of the entire structure.

Mr. Le Cong Son, Deputy Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, said the center is preparing a project to urgently repair and restore the section of the Hue Imperial City wall that collapsed due to recent floods and rains to submit to competent authorities for approval as soon as possible.

After this project, the center will continue to establish a project to comprehensively inspect the current status of all relics under the center's management and plan for emergency repairs of relics that have been damaged, are at risk of collapse, or are vulnerable to natural disasters.

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NHAT LINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/bao-ve-di-tich-tram-tuoi-truoc-thien-tai-20251125101932384.htm