Danger lurks at spontaneous spillway

About 4km from the center of Van Han commune, in Deo Khe hamlet, there is a spillway built by the locals nearly 20 years ago, consisting of two culverts with a diameter of 1m, covered with a layer of concrete on the surface, about 4m wide, about 25m long. Every time it rains heavily, the water rises quickly and flows rapidly, posing many potential risks to the safety of people, vehicles and the structure.

Spillway in Khe Mo hamlet, Van Han commune.

This spillway bridge crosses the river confluence of two streams belonging to La Hien and Van Han communes, flows through Deo Khe hamlet and then flows to Linh Nham bridge, out to Cau river. This is the route connecting Deo Khe hamlet and neighboring areas.

Every day, many students go back and forth to schools such as Deo Khe Kindergarten, Khe Mo Primary School... In addition, there are also many people from hamlets such as Pha Ly, Lang Ca moving to La Hien commune, or from Lang Gian, Deo Khe going to Van Han commune.

Mr. Nong Van Tien, Head of Deo Khe Hamlet, Van Han Commune: On days of heavy rain, the water flowing over the bridge is very strong, often creating dangerous whirlpools. It only takes heavy rain lasting about 1-2 hours for the bridge to be flooded; if it rains all day, the water level can rise nearly 1 meter.

Meanwhile, the bridge does not have a guardrail, so it poses many potential safety risks. There have been 5 cases of people having their motorbikes swept away while crossing the bridge. Fortunately, all of these cases knew how to swim and were rescued in time. The highest water level ever recorded was about 3m, which occurred in 2013.

Not only affecting daily life, flooding also causes many obstacles for people's production and transportation of goods.

In Van Han commune, there are many households engaged in small-scale agriculture , mainly growing tea, beekeeping, bananas, etc. When the bridge is flooded, traders cannot enter the hamlets deep in the area to purchase agricultural products, while people cannot transport their goods to the market or transit points. "Many days when we get there, we have to turn around and return empty-handed," said Ly Anh Nien, a trader in Na Nua hamlet, Van Han commune.

During the rainy season, water from streams and upstream flows down, causing the water level to rise, creating danger in the spillway area. In the context of increasingly extreme rain and floods, people need to be especially careful when crossing, and absolutely should not risk crossing the bridge when the water is rising. Putting up warning signs and erecting temporary barriers during heavy rains is a necessary solution to limit risks to people and property, especially during the peak of the rainy season.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202508/nguy-hiem-rinh-rap-tai-cau-tran-tu-phat-3444d7a/