Can Tho seeks fundamental solutions to the landslide problem.

As the rainy season begins, Can Tho city faces a complex situation of riverbank and canal erosion.

Many transportation routes have been cut off, and dozens of homes have been submerged or are seriously threatened. The city government is implementing an emergency response while simultaneously seeking fundamental solutions, shifting strongly from a passive response mindset to a proactive, preventative approach to protect the lives and property of its citizens.

A landslide spanning over 30 meters in Phu Tay hamlet, Nhon My commune, Can Tho city, caused the collapse of a road in April 2026. Photo: Thanh Liem/TTXVN

The threat of landslides surrounds rivers and canals.

According to statistics, landslides in Can Tho are increasing rapidly year by year. While the entire city only recorded 24 landslide points in 2011, this number has skyrocketed to 121 points by 2025. Even more worrying, in just the first five months of 2026, the city is expected to record an additional 54 new landslide points, concentrated along vital waterways such as the O Mon, Binh Thuy, Tra Noc, Nang Mau, Rach Mop rivers and many other major canals and waterways.

Most recently, on May 23rd, a serious landslide occurred at the Ba Xam sluice gate area in Dai Ngai commune. The day before, the pressure from the strong current caused a 20-meter section of the riverbank in this area to completely collapse, encroaching 2 meters inland and directly affecting the movement and daily lives of local residents. The Dai Ngai commune authorities had to urgently erect warning signs and restrict people from gathering or passing through this vulnerable area.

Earlier, in the early morning of May 18th, heavy rain combined with strong swirling currents caused a 30-meter-long, 4-meter-wide section of concrete road along the Ben Ba River in Phu Thuan area, Hung Phu ward, to collapse. The incident completely cut off traffic, with many sections deeply eroded, dragging down fences, trees, and the concrete foundations of local residents. New cracks continue to appear at the scene, threatening further landslides at any moment.

Living in the heart of the Ben Ba riverbank erosion zone, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang (Hung Phu ward) recounted the moment she heard the walls of her house creaking in the middle of the night. Thanks to the shouts of a night vendor at 3 a.m., her family managed to escape in time. Ms. Hang shared that the soil and rocks collapsed very quickly; by the next day, a large concrete slab on the other side had also been swept away by the water.

Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Nhi, a local businesswoman, said that the landslide on the only road has completely halted trade and business, forcing residents to take a very long detour through the canal, making travel extremely difficult.

In Nhon My commune, the landslide situation is even more alarming, with the locality recording approximately 70 landslide points and dozens of locations at high risk of landslides, totaling over 1.2 km in length. These landslide points have cut off many rural roads and directly affected 9 houses, with 4 houses completely collapsing into the river.

In April 2026 alone, major landslides occurred repeatedly in Phung An hamlet and the Phu Tay hamlet ferry area, sweeping away dozens of meters of road into the river. Ms. Le Thi Bich Thuy, a resident of Nhon My commune, expressed her anxiety and worry every night, especially on rainy and stormy days when the tide rises. Due to difficult circumstances, her family has nowhere else to relocate and can only hope that the government will soon invest in a sturdy embankment.

The Xáng Nàng Mau canal, the section passing through Thạnh Hòa commune, is also becoming a "hot spot" for natural disasters. Mr. Đặng Ngọc Nguyên, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thạnh Hòa commune, confirmed that from the beginning of 2026 until now, the abnormal changes in water flow, impacting the weak geological foundation, have caused two major landslides along this canal, destroying nearly 40 meters of rural road and directly threatening 12 houses, with estimated property damage exceeding 1 billion VND.

According to Mr. Huynh Thanh Viet, Head of the Can Tho City Irrigation Department, because the Nang Mau Canal is a vital waterway connecting the Mai Dam River with the Hau River, the density of vehicles and the current are very strong. Particularly in the sections near the Nang Mau Bridge on National Highway 1A, the extremely high water velocity at the bridge abutments causes the "undercutting" phenomenon, cracking the walls and foundations of houses and raising the risk of collapse into the river to an alarming level.

Authorities believe that, in addition to natural factors such as weak soil, heavy rainfall, and high tides, excessive sand mining, the depletion of alluvial deposits from the upper Mekong River, and the dense construction of structures along the riverbanks are the core reasons for the increasingly serious erosion.

Proactively seek fundamental and nature-friendly solutions.

In response to the severe damage caused by natural disasters, the Can Tho city government is urgently mobilizing all resources to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Regarding the critical landslide areas along the Xang Nang Mau canal, the city has issued an emergency declaration for the left bank section from the former Dong Phuoc commune boundary to the Rach Chua canal.

At the same time, localities actively implemented the "four on-the-spot" principle, mobilizing police and military forces to assist people in relocating their property, erecting warning signs, and temporarily reinforcing roads with local materials to maintain traffic flow.

However, completely resolving landslide hotspots is currently facing significant financial difficulties. For example, in Nhon My commune, only 27 out of 69 points have been addressed, leaving 42 points unresolved due to a lack of funds.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Nhon, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Can Tho City, said that for vulnerable points, especially the curved sections of the river, the immediate and long-term solution is to build a solid embankment system. Authorities are actively proposing that the city allocate investment capital for these embankment sections to ensure absolute safety for the people.

Sharing his views on the bottlenecks in disaster prevention, Mr. Tran Chi Hung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Can Tho City, emphasized that landslides are becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. The biggest difficulty for the locality currently is relocating residents from dangerous areas due to their long-standing living habits closely tied to rivers and waterways. For example, in the area at the head of the Cai Cui canal, people still cling to their homes despite the very high risk of landslides.

Furthermore, Can Tho is facing a serious shortage of suitable resettlement land for poor households living in temporary riverside houses without legal land use rights, causing significant legal obstacles for the construction industry. The city also faces the problem of a scarcity of leveling materials as freshwater sand reserves in the riverbed are gradually depleting, while abundant sea sand lacks specific technical standards for application in freshwater areas to prevent soil salinization.

At the conference on implementing Conclusion No. 26-KL/TW of the Politburo on preventing and combating subsidence and landslides in the Mekong Delta, held on May 9, 2026, Can Tho City requested the Central Government to urgently provide approximately 570 billion VND from the contingency budget to address serious landslide areas and invest in a project to combat pollution in the Khai Luong canal. At the same time, the city proposed that relevant ministries and agencies promptly issue guidelines on the use of sea sand for land reclamation and develop a comprehensive plan for relocating residents in landslide-prone areas, combined with policies to eliminate temporary and dilapidated housing.

At the conference, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Trinh Viet Hung affirmed that Conclusion No. 26-KL/TW reflects a strategic vision to address extreme challenges from climate change and human impacts. The Minister requested that provinces and cities in the region fundamentally change their mindset, shifting from passive response to proactive prevention and adaptation in a way that is in harmony with nature and strengthens regional linkages. The agriculture and environment sectors require stricter management of water resources, groundwater, and riverbed sand mining to prevent "man-made disasters" that exacerbate landslides.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/can-tho-tim-loi-giai-can-co-cho-bai-toan-sat-lo-20260528141627281.htm