Urgent handling of landslide incident on Lo embankment causing traffic disruption

Due to the impact of prolonged storms and floods, the water level of the Lo River rose, the flow changed, causing the geology to weaken, causing landslides on the left Lo dike, causing road breaks, cutting off traffic on Provincial Road 323, at Km43, Tien Phong area, Hung Long commune (Doan Hung district).

Mr. Quyen Hong Ha - Tien Phong area, Hung Long commune, who witnessed the incident, said: Previously, there was a small landslide in this area, and at the same time, the water level of the Lo River rose. On the side of the dike in Tuyen Quang province, there were all rocks, so the current swirled to the dike on this side. Over time, the water seeped in, the geology weakened, causing a section of the dike to collapse.

Landslide breaks and cuts off traffic on provincial road DT323

Talking to Phu Tho Newspaper reporter, comrade Vu Trong Khai - Head of Economic Infrastructure Department of Doan Hung district said: This area has also experienced small landslides before. From September 18, the riverbank and riverbank section corresponding to K19+00-K19+050 of the right dike of Lo River (corresponding to km43+750-km43+800 of provincial road DT.323) in Hung Long commune, Doan Hung district continued to have strong landslides, the landslide position reached the foot of the dike; at 4:00 p.m. on September 20, the landslide at the above location continued to occur and went close to the edge of the concrete road on the dike surface; at 5:00 p.m. on the same day, the landslide penetrated deep into the entire dike body; the length of the landslide was about 50m, the landslide was (14-16)m high, causing a road break, cutting off traffic on provincial road DT.323.

What is worrying is that the landslide did not stop but continued to develop strongly and spread. By the afternoon of September 24, it was recorded at the scene that the landslide continued to spread, increasing to about 100m in length. The dike surface in the landslide area had many cracks with the risk of further landslides.

Regarding the cause of the landslide, Head of Phu Tho Irrigation Sub-Department Nguyen Hung Son said: Due to the impact of storm No. 3, there was heavy rain in the province, very heavy rain in many places; combined with the discharge of floodwaters from upstream hydroelectric reservoirs (at the peak, Thac Ba reservoir opened 3 surface discharge gates, Tuyen Quang reservoir opened 8 bottom discharge gates) on the Chay River and Lo River systems, there was a major flood, causing the Lo River water level to rise (at 5:00 p.m. on September 11, the Lo River water level at Vu Quang station, Doan Hung district was at +21.21m, 0.71m above alert level III); the time the river water level was at the alert level for many days caused the soil to be saturated with water, the landslide area had high landslides, weak geology, when the hydroelectric reservoirs closed the discharge gates, the Lo River water level suddenly receded (the water level dropped about 12m compared to the flood peak), causing landslides and slides on the river.

Close-up of landslide area

Immediately after receiving information about the incident, leaders of the Provincial People's Committee, functional departments and branches, and leaders of the Doan Hung District People's Committee directly went to the scene to record the level of danger of the incident, and at the same time determine the cause and direction of remediation.

Directly inspecting the scene, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Hai directed the Department of Transport, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Doan Hung District People's Committee to coordinate with functional agencies, police forces, and direct Hung Long Commune People's Committee to fence, notify, and put up warning signs not allowing people and vehicles to enter the landslide area, while at the same time diverting traffic, arranging forces to regularly check and grasp the situation to promptly report when situations arise.

Discussing this issue, comrade Tran Quoc Binh - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that on September 23, 3 days after the incident, based on measurements, monitoring and consultation with experts, the Department submitted a proposal to announce an emergency situation regarding natural disasters (including emergency handling plans, emergency construction orders) for the landslide and slide of the Lo River right dike, corresponding to the section from K19+00-K19+050 in Hung Long commune.

Accordingly, the requirements and objectives of the urgent project are to promptly overcome the problem of dike landslides, meet the requirements of flood prevention and control, protect the safety of people's lives and property in the area; and ensure smooth traffic on provincial road DT.323.

The emergency solution to the problem is to roll the dike towards the field, the length of the dike roll is about 500m to ensure synchronization with the dike and current traffic route. The estimated cost is about 15 billion VND from the provincial budget, support from the central budget and other legally mobilized capital sources (of which, the construction cost is about 13 billion VND; the compensation cost for site clearance is about 2 billion VND). The implementation time, construction is to be completed before December 30, 2024.

Dinh Vu

Source: https://baophutho.vn/khan-cap-xu-ly-su-co-sat-lo-de-ta-lo-gay-dut-duong-giao-thong-219656.htm