Dozens of landslides appeared in Ha Giang

At around 5am on July 14, rocks and soil from a 15-20m high hill in Coc Pai town, Sin Man district collapsed onto the residential area and factory below. A solid two-story house at the top of the hill had its yard eroded, and was left precariously perched on the hillside. Below, the factory frame collapsed onto a truck, and rocks and soil spilled over most of Provincial Road 178.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Chairman of Coc Pai Town People's Committee, said that two households with 9 people had proactively evacuated since yesterday afternoon, so the landslide did not cause any human casualties. The local government has sent people to check all landslide risk areas in the area to find response solutions.

Ha Giang Provincial People's Committee said heavy rains caused dozens of landslides. In addition to the point on National Highway 34 through Yen Dinh Commune, Bac Me District, Provincial Road 178 had 10 landslides with a volume of 1,300 m3. Vi Xuyen District had 12 landslides on inter-commune and inter-village roads with a volume of 1,500 m3 of soil and rock.

In Xin Man district, 10 inter-commune and inter-village roads had 26 landslides with a volume of 830 m3 of soil and rock, many of which were impassable to cars. In Quang Binh district, landslides occurred at 18 points on inter-commune and inter-village roads with a volume of 1,200 m3. In addition, 7 canals in Xin Man district were damaged by landslides.

Yesterday, Ha Giang province urgently evacuated 21 families in Xin Man district. Floods and landslides damaged 25 houses and more than 37 hectares of crops and rice were flooded and collapsed.

In Bac Me district, from 6 a.m., more than 60 soldiers on duty and 30 militiamen of the Ha Giang Provincial Military Command continued to search for victims suspected of being missing after a landslide that killed 11 people and injured 4 others at 4 a.m. yesterday.

The authorities later contacted the girl. She reported that she had returned home in Ngoc Duong Commune, Ha Giang City, safely. The search for the victim ended. Forces focused on leveling rocks and soil to clear National Highway 34.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that the rainfall from 11pm on July 13 to 5am on July 14 in Lao Chai (Ha Giang) was more than 150mm. It is forecasted that in the next 3-6 hours, the North will have widespread rain of 10-30mm, with some places having over 50mm. The districts of Quan Ba, Bac Me, Vi Xuyen, Hoang Su Phi, Bac Quang, Xin Man, Quang Binh and Ha Giang city are at high risk of landslides.