HCM CITY (Viet Nam News/ANN) - A number of provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta facing serious erosion along rivers and coastal areas are taking measures to protect the land and people in the area.
The provinces are Long An, the two upstream provinces of An Giang and Dong Thap, and the coastal provinces of Ben Tre, Soc Trang and Ca Mau.
Long An Province has declared an urgent erosion situation along the Can Giuoc River along a length of 2.4 kilometres in Cần Giuộc District.
Pham Van Canh, vice chairman of the Long An Province People’s Committee, has asked local authorities to ban people from entering eroded areas.
Local authorities should also help locals move to safe areas and take urgent measures to prevent erosion, he said.
In Soc Trang Province, seven dangerous eroded areas exist along rivers in My Xuyen, Long Phu, Ke Sach and Cu Lao Dung districts, Vinh Chau Town and Soc Trang City.
The erosion area at the Rach Lop River section in Ke Sach District and erosion areas at the Hau and Saintard rivers in Long Phu District are especially dangerous.
Soc Trang Province has an especially dangerous eroded area along a coastal section that runs from the border with Bac Lieu Province to Sluice Gate No. 4 in Vinh Chau Town.
The Soc Trang Province People’s Committee has told local authorities to take urgent measures, including building submerged embankments and revetments to protect dikes.
The province has had more than 30 erosion cases so far this year, causing property damage worth hundreds of millions of dong.
Ben Tre Province has 112 eroded areas with a total length of 140 kilometres along rivers and coast.
Of these, four eroded areas with a total length of nearly seven kilometres along rivers and coastal areas need urgent protection.
The four eroded areas are in Ba Tri, Thanh Phu and Binh Dai districts and Ben Tre City.
Cao Van Trong, chairman of the Ben Tre Province People’s Committee, said that people should move their property out of the eroded areas.
The localities should set up warning boards and barriers to prevent people and vehicles from travelling into the eroded areas, he said.
In Ca Mau Province, more than 25 kilometres of estuaries and coast and 1.2 kilometres of rivers need urgent measures, according to the province’s People’s Committee.
The eroded areas are especially dangerous, directly affecting residential areas, administrative areas, education and healthcare facilities, and National Highway No. 1A and protection forests.
The erosion situation at Vam Xoay estuary in Ngoc Hien District, for instance, is complicated and protection forests at the estuary have lost about 80-100 metres of land each year.
The Ca Mau Province People’s Committee has decided to build erosion-prevention embankments at Vam Xoay, Rach Goc and Hoc Nang estuaries in Ngoc Hien District and Ho Gui estuary locating between Nam Can and Dam Doi districts.
It will also build several embankments along canals in Ngoc Hien and Nam Can districts.
The Ca Mau Province People’s Committee has petitioned the Government to support the province with VND74 billion (US$3.18 million) for projects to protect its western sea dyke, property and local residents.
