Phu Dien Cham Tower relic faces risk of damage due to floods

The prolonged flooding of Phu Dien Cham Tower, and the government's lack of thorough measures to deal with it, has raised concerns about the protection of Vietnam's historical heritage.

Phu Dien Cham Tower. Photo: Quoc Le.

During the historic flood from October 27 until now, the Cham tower of Phu Dien (Phu Vinh commune, Hue city) has been submerged in water for a long time. At one point, the tower's body was almost half submerged. Because it is located under a sand dune and lower than sea level, the accumulated rainwater cannot drain, causing the entire relic area to turn into a stagnant "water hole". Up to now, the local government and the Hue City History Museum - the relic's management unit - have not yet taken measures to thoroughly handle this prolonged flooding situation.

Speaking with Tien Phong Newspaper on the afternoon of November 6, a representative of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City said that because the project is located under a sand dune, close to the sea, when the tide rises, it will seep inside, making it very difficult to handle flooding.

“Previously, the tower was flooded, the management unit hired a pump to drain the water in the relic area, then the water filled up again. We will invite experts to research and calculate a long-term flood prevention solution for the project, because letting such a situation happen is not okay!”, a leader of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City informed.

This situation has raised concerns among local people about an ancient structure of great historical and cultural value in Vietnam being seriously affected by natural disasters and floods.

Phu Dien Cham Tower has been submerged in water for a long time. Photo: Hoang Anh Tuan / Tien Phong Newspaper.

The tower is located 5-7 meters deep under the sand dunes, 3-4 meters below sea level and only 120 meters from the sea edge. This is a very special location compared to the remaining Cham towers in Vietnam. Most of these Cham towers are located on hilltops and far from the coast.

The tower was discovered by a group of workers from Titan II Enterprise in April 2001 at the titanium ore mining site No. 3 on the coast of Phu Vinh commune. The official excavation was carried out in September of the same year. Afterwards, the tower was protected by measures such as: building a house to protect it from the rain and sun, zoning the area, erecting many wooden pillars to prevent it from tilting and collapsing, building a dike to prevent sand from blowing and burying it and blocking water erosion...

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/di-tich-thap-cham-phu-dien-doi-mat-voi-nguy-co-hu-hong-do-mua-lu-post2149066913.html