Viet Nam News
18 May 2015
HCM CITY (VNS) — Soil erosion caused mainly by lower levels of water in rivers and canals in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta has damaged houses, fruit orchards and construction works.
Hau Giang Province’s Chau Thanh District is one of the delta’s hardest-hit areas.
Tran Quang Hanh, head of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau, said this year serious erosion had occurred during the dry season. Soil erosion usually appears during the rainy reason.
The district has had 15 erosion cases along rivers and canals in the first four months of the year. Erosion is 10-34 metres long and 2 – 9 metres wide, he said.
Erosion has caused damage to land, vegetable, fruit and roads at an estimated VND343 million (US$16,300).
On April 23, an eroded road section 35 metres long and six metres wide in Phu Huu Commune’s Phu Loi Hamlet fell into the river.
Tran Thi Hong, whose house is located near the road section, said erosion had occurred seriously twice this year in the area.
Chau Thanh District is located at the Hau River, a tribute of the Mekong, and in the dry season the river level is low, and boats and barges often travel on the river, causing erosion.
Boats and barges on the river cause water to wash up on riverbanks and create holes in the banks. The vault-like entrances can lead to erosion.
Hanh said the district has told households in erosion-prone areas to move their houses to safe areas.