Earthquake in Kon Tum causes landslide, dozens of rocks roll down to village in Quang Nam

The earthquake occurred at 4:42 p.m. on November 30 in Kon Tum with a focal depth of about 8.1 km. Although Tu Hon village, Tra Don commune, Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam province is about 50 km from the epicenter, the houses of 17 households, including 69 people, were shaken strongly.

People fled their homes and heard a loud explosion from the top of Ngoc Mang Mountain, more than 100 meters from the village. Dozens of large rocks rolled down the mountain, stopping about 50 meters from the village after being blocked by trees and other rocks. Fearing that the rocks would continue to fall, all Tu Hon villagers were evacuated to safety.

On the morning of December 1, Mr. Dinh Van Vuong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Don Commune, said that the authorities had come to inspect the scene. The rolling rock had broken many forest trees, some large rocks had been hit so hard that they split in two, many others were precariously placed and at risk of continuing to roll down.

According to Mr. Vuong, this is the first time a series of rolling rocks has occurred in the locality. "The cause was determined to be earthquake vibrations, because there has been no heavy rain in the area in recent days," he said, adding that the commune has reported to the district for a solution.

The Tra Don Commune authorities also plan to evacuate people in case of heavy rain or earthquakes. On-duty forces are deployed to promptly warn and support people.

According to the Institute of Geophysics, on November 30, 6 earthquakes occurred in Kon Plong district. The first earthquake had a magnitude of 4, the following earthquakes ranged from 2.5 to 3.4. The natural disaster risk is assessed at level 0, however, the frequent earthquake phenomenon has caused many neighboring localities to worry about the safety of the people.