The coastal embankment section through Thuan An ward has just been invested in.

Risk of landslides in many places

Building embankments to respond to landslides and sea erosion is considered the most effective solution today to stabilize the coast and protect residents... In coastal areas, landslide areas are treated with solid embankments that have stopped landslides, effectively protecting residential areas and production land inside. However, floods from late 2024 to early 2025 have caused many coastal sections to continue to erode and require urgent treatment.

In the two old communes of Phu Thuan and Phu Hai (now Thuan An ward), coastal erosion continues in sections that have not received synchronous investment, and some sections even experience landslides in the dry season, causing concern for local people as well as authorities.

Similarly, in Vinh Hien and Vinh My communes (now Vinh Loc commune), due to the complicated development of natural disasters, especially storm No. 6 in 2024, serious erosion has caused seawater to flood into residential areas. In the long term, if solid embankments are not built, when the rainy and stormy season comes, the risk of sea erosion affecting residential areas is very high.

According to the Department of Irrigation and Climate Change - Department of Agriculture and Environment (DARD), in recent years, due to the increasingly complex impacts of climate change, abnormal weather developments in the city have been continuously affected by storms, tropical depressions and strengthening cold air, causing heavy rain. In particular, in 2024, due to the impact of storm No. 6 and consecutive natural disasters in September and October, coastal erosion in the city has become more severe, increasing the total length of erosion to more than 20km. The average annual erosion rate is from 5 - 7m, in some places from 20 - 30m, threatening the lives and property of more than 1,000 households living close to the shore and affecting provincial roads, National Highway 49B, technical infrastructure works as well as the ecosystem of Tam Giang - Cau Hai lagoon...

Faced with the above situation, in recent years, with many capital sources from the Central, local and legal sources, the city has invested in coastal erosion protection embankments with a length of nearly 10km, the embankments are operating normally, promoting efficiency in protecting land and residents. However, there are still sections with severe erosion that need urgent handling, including the coastal section through Thuan An ward with a length of nearly 1km and the coastal section through Vinh Loc commune with a length of 1km with a total cost of about 400 billion VND.

Treatment of vulnerable areas

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, after the floods, the department coordinated with the City's Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control, and with functional agencies and local authorities to conduct inspections and surveys to propose solutions to prevent and combat landslides in vulnerable and key areas. For the old Phu Hai commune coast, in 2021, the Provincial People's Committee (now the City People's Committee) approved the investment policy for an emergency anti-erosion embankment project for the Phu Hai - Phu Dien (old) coastal section with a length of 1.9km, with a total investment of 190 billion VND; the old Giang Hai commune coast (now Vinh Loc commune), implemented an emergency anti-erosion embankment project with a length of 3.4km, with a cost of about 260 billion VND. The projects have been effective, ensuring stable lives for the people.

For the landslide section in Thuan An ward beach area, the City's Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue has urgently released 4,150m2 of geotextiles and 700m3 of boulders and mobilized technical staff to the scene to participate in directing, guiding and urging forces to urgently handle coastal landslides. However, due to the impact of consecutive natural disasters from late 2024 to early 2025, erosion and landslides have recurred in the above areas, requiring a long-term treatment plan. The City People's Committee has reported and proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to include in the medium-term plan for the period 2026-2030 the public investment capital managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to invest in the construction of embankments to prevent coastal landslides in the city.

According to the City People's Committee, the investment cost for building embankments to prevent coastal erosion is very large, while the city budget is not balanced enough to arrange for implementation. Therefore, the City People's Committee has directed the Project Management Board (PMU) of Investment and Construction of Agricultural and Rural Development Works to conduct a survey and coordinate with relevant units to propose an emergency treatment plan for a particularly serious landslide section with a length of about 400m in Vinh Loc commune to consider, balance and arrange funding for implementation.

In the coming time, the City People's Committee assigned the Project Management Board for Investment and Construction of Agricultural and Rural Development Works to study and establish an investment project for a severely eroded coastal section with a length of more than 1.5 km in Vinh Loc commune; coordinate with relevant departments and branches to advise the City People's Committee to propose to the Government , ministries and central branches to pay attention to supporting funding for investment in handling coastal erosion in the above area. The City People's Committee also requested localities to take measures to arrange barriers, fences, and install warning signs in dangerous coastal erosion areas. Proactively relocate and evacuate people, and reserve supplies for temporary emergency handling when natural disasters occur.

Article and photos: HA NGUYEN

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/uu-tien-xu-ly-khan-cap-sat-lo-bo-bien-156370.html