Racing against the weather, efforts to clear the route to Ngoc Linh (Quang Ngai)

Construction of 2 "pliers"

Photo caption — Authorities handle a landslide on Provincial Road 673.

There are two ways to enter Ngoc Linh commune. One is from Ho Chi Minh road following provincial road 673 with a length of nearly 40 km. However, along the route there are about 25 landslides, of different sizes, with a volume of tens of thousands of cubic meters of earth and rock. The remaining direction, 21 km long, from Mang Ri commune, also has many landslides. For the past 4 days, Ngoc Linh has been the most difficult commune to travel in Quang Ngai province.

Faced with the current situation of many landslides, the authorities in Quang Ngai province have mobilized maximum manpower and vehicles to clear the route to Ngoc Linh commune. Speaking to a reporter from the Vietnam News Agency, Mr. Phan Muoi, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Quang Ngai province, said: The western area of Quang Ngai province (formerly Kon Tum province) has many landslides, especially the provincial road 673 from Ho Chi Minh road leading to Ngoc Linh commune. The route has a series of landslides; among them, there are large landslides, when the authorities finished clearing, it rained again. Therefore, the Department of Construction has directed relevant units and hydropower plants in the area to mobilize machinery and equipment to coordinate in overcoming large landslides, organizing construction in two "pincers". One group will fix from the inside out, one group from the outside in, to ensure the landslides on the route are overcome as quickly as possible.

However, due to the heavy rains that have been going on for many days in the area, the soil has been saturated with water, unable to bond, and prone to landslides. Opening the entrance to Ngoc Linh commune has encountered many difficulties. Despite mobilizing all human resources and means, the clearance of provincial road 673 still faces many difficulties when it is being pushed up first and then slid down later. Mr. Tran Quoc Phung, Deputy Director of Kon Tum Construction and Traffic Works Management Joint Stock Company, the unit assigned by the Department of Construction to manage provincial road 673, said: Immediately after receiving the request from the Department of Construction, the company has focused on machinery and equipment to respond, following two directions from Xop commune in and Ngoc Linh in, to clear the road as soon as possible. The company's machinery and workers work day and night. However, the weather is unfavorable, there are places where landslides continue after being repaired.

Currently, along Provincial Road 673, the authorities are organizing to fix the landslide, clearing a temporary lane for people and vehicles to pass. At km 27+600, the "hottest" spot on the entire route. This is where 2 people were swept away by the flood while traveling here on October 28, fortunately they were rescued in time by the people. On the morning of October 30, the landslide repair is being carried out urgently. At the landslide point, although only about 30 meters long, in the past few days, workers have had to clear the route 3 times but still have not finished. Currently, 2 excavators are working all day because water, mud, and rocks from the positive slope still follow the water onto the road surface.

“For Provincial Road 763 alone, we mobilized 10 workers with 7 excavators, loaders and 2 trucks, deployed in 2 directions, in which at km 27+600, 2 machines have been cleared 3 times but have not succeeded. Every time it is cleared, water, mud and rocks overflow onto the road,” Mr. Tran Quoc Phung added.

5 villages remain isolated

Ngoc Linh commune has 22 villages, during storm No. 12, many inter-village roads and roads to production areas in the commune were eroded, concrete surfaces cracked, and frog-mouth erosion occurred in many locations, making it impossible for people to travel. By noon today, October 30, Ngoc Linh commune still has 5 villages with more than 400 households and more than 1,700 people almost isolated and difficult to access. These are the villages: Tu Rang, Xa Ua, Tu Chieu, Ngoc Lang, Ngoc Nang

Speaking to VNA reporters at noon on October 30, Mr. A Phuong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Ngoc Linh commune, said: In the past four days, floods in Ngoc Linh commune have caused great damage to the locality. Floods have made the roads to the above five villages impassable. People are isolated inside, and authorities cannot access them. As soon as the incident occurred, the government sent a force of more than 100 people to clear the shortcut to the production area. Of which, the road to the production area of Ngoc Nang village is the farthest, nearly 15 km long.

To get to the 5 isolated villages, up to now, people have to go on foot. The travel time is about 30 minutes longer than usual. The weather is dry now, but goods transportation still has to be done on foot. Tomorrow, October 31, the commune will continue to send about 100 more people to open the road to the 5 villages. We are trying to open the road so that people can walk easily, so that the children can go to school next week.

Despite the difficulty of traveling, the people of the 5 isolated villages still ensure their lives. Currently, the people have enough rice to live for 1 month. Essential goods such as oil, salt, etc. are also available in stores. "If there is a shortage, we will send militia to carry food and provisions to the people," Mr. A Phuong affirmed.

Currently, the clearing of a section of the road leading to Ngoc Linh commune has been temporarily cleared. However, if the weather continues to rain, landslides will certainly occur. Therefore, at the "hot spots", the authorities still have machinery and people on standby, ready to handle any landslides that may occur.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/chay-dua-voi-thoi-tiet-no-luc-thong-tuyen-vao-ngoc-linh-quang-ngai-20251030141619373.htm