Concerned about serious landslides on Bu Lu river bank (Hue)

For many years, dozens of households living along Bu Lu River, Chan May - Lang Co Commune, Hue City, have always lived in a state of anxiety and insecurity due to increasingly serious landslides.

The banks of Bu Lu river have eroded, encroaching on people's residential land.

Although this problem has lasted for nearly 10 years, and people have repeatedly petitioned the government to build a protective embankment, Hue City has yet to allocate funds to implement the project. This has put the lives and property of people living along the Bu Lu River at risk, especially during the flood season.

Landslides threaten people's lives and property

According to the reporter's records, the landslides are serious at the curved sections, the banks of the Bu Lu River have not been reinforced. In these areas, the land subsides, causing crops near the banks to be uprooted, leaving roots exposed, and patches of land at risk of collapsing. Deep sinkholes have appeared in the gardens of some households. Worryingly, there are landslides only about 5-7m from people's houses.

Born and raised on the land left by his ancestors, during the flood season, Mr. Nguyen Van Le (62 years old, residing in Chan May commune - Lang Co) had to helplessly witness dozens of meters of garden land being swept away by the Bu Lu river. Pointing to the bamboo root in the middle of the river, Mr. Le said: “That bamboo root is the remaining trace of my family's garden. The landslide forced me to move my mother's house inside. The remaining house where I live is also at risk of further landslides. During the flood season, the river encroaches even deeper inside, making my family very insecure.”

Landslides caused riverside crops to be uprooted and seriously eroded.

Having more than 10m of garden land eroded, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Qua (75 years old, residing in Chan May commune - Lang Co) choked up and said: "Every time the rainy season comes, I can't help but feel anxious and nervous when I see the river flowing rapidly, swirling deep into the bank, causing large areas of land to erode. The erosion is getting more and more serious, waiting to sweep away my remaining property, which is my house. I am old, but I still earnestly hope that the government will pay attention and promptly build embankments next to the eroded area, so that people can live in peace."

Also affected by the landslide, Mr. Nguyen A (75 years old, residing in Chan May commune - Lang Co) said that the main cause of the landslide was the illegal sand mining that had been going on for many years, causing the riverbed to be dug deeper. Along with that, the opposite bank had a reinforced embankment, causing the river flow to rush to the other side, leading to increasingly deeper landslides.

The embankment construction project is still waiting for funding.

A deep sinkhole appeared right behind people's houses along Bu Lu River, Hue City, posing a potential risk of landslides.

According to the report of the People's Committee of Chan May - Lang Co commune, Hue city, the situation of landslides on the banks of Bu Lu river is increasingly serious and complicated. The main reason is that the river is short and steep, causing the flow rate during the rainy season to be very high. In addition, one side of the river has been built with embankments, while the other side is not reinforced. In particular, at the landslide sections, illegal sand mining activities occur frequently, causing a shortage of additional sand sources, making the height difference between the riverbed and the bank increasingly large. As a result, landslides occur along the entire route, most seriously at the curves of the river.

In October - November 2023, many consecutive floods occurred, causing the landslide situation on the banks of Bu Lu River to become more severe. Landslides occurred in many sections, with a total length of about 1 km, directly affecting more than 21 households with about 110 people, 1 religious facility and causing landslides on the inter-village road Thuy Yen Thuong - Thuy Cam. The landslide phenomenon continues to occur and shows no signs of stopping.

Panoramic view of Bu Lu River.

Mr. Tran Van Minh Quan, Chairman of Chan May - Lang Co Commune People's Committee, said that the Bu Lu River erosion has been happening for many years and 21 households have been affected. The old Phu Loc district has made statistics, made a plan to implement the embankment construction project and approved the technical economic report. However, due to difficulties in funding, the project has not been implemented yet. Recently, the commune reported the public investment plan to the Department of Finance, including the Bu Lu River erosion repair project in the plan. The total estimated cost to implement the project is 78 billion VND.

Mr. Quan commented that the current situation of landslides along the banks of the Bu Lu River is becoming more complicated. Every year, when the rainy season comes, the commune government must proactively evacuate people in key areas to safe places. Therefore, the commune hopes that the superior authorities will pay attention to supporting funding to soon implement the embankment construction project, in order to ensure a stable life for the people in the coming time.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/cong-dong/bat-an-voi-tinh-trang-sat-lo-nghiem-trong-bo-song-bu-lu-hue-20251009110154660.htm