Storm No. 3 has passed for more than a week, but residents and staff at Lam Giang railway station (Van Yen district, Yen Bai ) are still worried about the risk of landslides at any time.

Mr. Nguyen Son Hai (39 years old, in Tho Lam village) pointed to the top of Nui Lo that collapsed on September 10 and said that most of the trees and crops that his family had planted over the past few years had been damaged.

“The trees and crops were almost completely buried under the rocks and soil. After the landslide, I wanted to see if I could harvest anything, but the authorities warned me that Nui Lo would continue to collapse, so I couldn’t do anything,” said Mr. Hai.

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Mr. Nguyen Son Hai lost almost all his trees and crops after the landslide at Nui Lo. Photo: Vu Diep

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Van Linh, Head of Lam Giang Station, said that the station area is located close to the negative slope of Provincial Road 164, above is a high mountain, so when the landslide occurred, tens of thousands of cubic meters of earth and rock buried the entire road; part of the railway and a house next to the station were also buried.

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Houses next to Lam Giang station were buried. Photo: Vu Diep

Mr. Linh recalled that on that day (September 10), after many days of heavy rain, at around 5:30 a.m., a large amount of rock and soil from Nui Lo slid down while railway employee Trinh Xuan Huy was on duty running the train.

The landslide quickly crushed Huy's entire body, causing him to be seriously injured and had to be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Not as lucky as Mr. Huy, Ms. Vu Thi P. (47 years old, whose house is right next to Lam Giang station) was buried by rocks and soil before she could wake up in the early morning. Rescuers found Ms. P. dead, wrapped in a blanket.

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Landslides swept across provincial road 164, burying a railway branch and threatening Lam Giang station on the Hanoi - Lao Cai railway line. Photo: VT

Warning of very high risk of landslides

Immediately after the landslide, all staff at Lam Giang station were evacuated to a safe location to operate the train. One side of the track was covered with rocks and soil and could not be put into operation.

Speaking with VietNamNet, Mr. Ha Duc Anh, Chairman of Van Yen District People's Committee, said that Yen Bai Provincial People's Committee is currently assigning the Department of Transport to carry out excavation work at 3 major landslide points on Provincial Road 164, including Lam Giang station.

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Lam Giang Station warns of landslides, no one is allowed to enter. Photo: Vu Diep

The Chairman of Van Yen district added that because Lam Giang station is at high risk of landslides, the locality has warned of the danger and requested the railway industry to come up with a suitable solution. There must be both short-term and long-term solutions to ensure safety.

Moving Lam Giang station to new location

Mr. Hoang Gia Khanh, General Director of Vietnam Railway Corporation, said that the unit will immediately clear the landslide area and install rock cages to keep the slope close to the railway to prevent further landslides. In case of continued rain in the next few days, trains, especially passenger trains, will have to be temporarily suspended because of the high risk of landslides.

Mr. Tran Thien Canh, Director of Vietnam Railway Authority, said that in 2017, Lam Giang station had a landslide of 100m in the southern area, pushing 4 freight trains into the Red River. After that, the railway industry handled both the positive and negative slopes, so this section has stabilized.

Regarding this handling plan, according to Mr. Canh, in the immediate future, the units need to clear away some of the soil and rocks in the slope area that is at risk of sliding down to the station to ensure train operation, then open the road above.

Mr. Canh also requested that Vietnam Railways Corporation conduct a thorough geological and topographic survey to find a solution to ensure long-term sustainability.

As for Lam Giang station and train operating units, a plan to build a new station on the bank of the Red River (opposite the station) has been proposed, but careful geological surveys are needed to ensure safety against concerns of riverbank erosion.