Vinh Long: Thanh Long Islet residents live precariously on the edge of landslides

Photo caption — The dike section of Thanh Long islet, Quoi Thien commune, Vinh Long province was eroded.

According to the people living in Thanh Long Islet, in just one month, the dike here has collapsed three times. Recently, during the high tide in early September of the lunar calendar, a section of the dike continued to collapse, water from the Co Chien River flooded inside, flooding orchards and houses.

Mr. Phan Thanh Minh, Head of Phuoc Ly Nhi Hamlet, Quoi Thien Commune, said that for many years now, landslides have frequently occurred in this area, causing damage to production land and affecting people's livelihoods. Thanh Long Islet has favorable conditions for growing fruit trees with high economic value, but every few months it is flooded, forcing people to struggle to overcome it. The continuous landslides have severely affected people's lives and production. Currently, the whole area has only about 15 hectares of cultivated land, with 6 households living and 22 households still sticking to production.

Mr. Phan Thanh Minh said: “In the past time, the government and people have mobilized forces and materials to reinforce the dike many times, but the landslide situation continues. In the face of complicated tidal developments, in the past few days, people have worked together to reinforce more than 400 meters of the dike. However, on the evening of October 23, landslides still occurred, making people very worried. Currently, many houses and gardens have been flooded. People live in a state of anxiety because the entire dike line shows signs of landslides. People hope that the government will soon have a fundamental solution so that people can live and produce with peace of mind.”

As one of the few households still living on Thanh Long islet, Mrs. Tran Thi Bay's family is always worried about the landslides. Mrs. Bay said: "For the past few years, there have been landslides every few months. The river water keeps rushing in, houses are knee-deep, and fruit gardens have not yet recovered and are flooded again. Many households have the means to leave the islet to live on the mainland, while a few households stay here because they cannot bear to leave their land and gardens. Now, every time the water rises, people on the islet work together to build banks and reinforce them to prevent it, but it is not effective. With the tide rising like this, the landslides will continue, making it very difficult."

According to the People's Committee of Quoi Thien commune, as soon as the landslide occurred, the local government mobilized forces to coordinate with the people to use mechanical vehicles to temporarily reinforce and repair the broken dike section to limit damage and ensure the safety of households. The locality also continued to inform the people in the area about the developments of the hydrometeorological situation in the coming time to proactively coordinate and monitor and deploy proactive response measures. Up to now, the forces have supported the people to basically reinforce and repair the collapsed dike section. However, there are still many points at risk of landslides, many layers of soil along the dike have gradually slid down the river.

Chairman of Quoi Thien Commune People's Committee Nguyen Phu Quoc said that recently, the commune government has regularly coordinated with local people to reinforce dyke sections at risk of landslides, and closely monitored the development of high tides to promptly respond. When landslides occur, local forces are quickly mobilized to support local people to overcome them, limiting damage to people and property. Although the locality has proactively reinforced many dyke sections with Melaleuca piles and earthwork, due to limited resources, the handling has only stopped at a temporary level. In the long term, the government and local people hope for a more comprehensive and sustainable solution to ensure safety for the area and stabilize people's lives and production.

According to Le Quang Rang, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Vinh Long province, the Thanh Long islet dike has been approved by the Provincial People's Committee for the investment policy of the Riverbank Anti-Erosion Embankment project with a total investment of more than 145 billion VND. The province has sent a document requesting the Central Government to consider and support funding for implementation. However, due to the large investment capital, through actual surveys, the Central Government has not yet allocated funding to implement the project. Currently, the province is continuing to request the Central Government to consider and implement appropriate solutions to overcome difficulties.

Thanh Long Islet, Quoi Thien Commune has experienced many serious landslides; notably during the Lunar New Year in 2016 and 2025, causing great damage to productive land and people's lives. Although the local government and people have made efforts to implement many reinforcement measures, the landslide situation in this area is still complicated, with many potential high-risk spots. Local people hope that authorities at all levels will soon have a comprehensive plan to solidify the dike system to protect houses, gardens and stabilize production or consider resettlement arrangements so that people can live and reproduce in peace.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/vinh-long-nguoi-dan-con-thanh-long-song-phap-phong-ben-bo-sat-lo-20251025192533470.htm