The old houses of Hoi Ky in the central province of Quang Tri are at high risk of being swallowed up by landslides.

Over the past two years, landslides have frequently occurred to the north of the O Lau River in Hoi Ky Village, Hai Chanh Commune, Hai Lang District, posing a continual danger to the locals and sweeping rows of perennial bamboos of the village away.

Landslides threaten a concrete house

Quang Tri’s People’s Committee is considering developing Hoi Ky, which is home to several old wooden houses, into an eco-tourism village.

“Over the past few days, early rains have damaged many sections of O Lau River and even a concrete road. The road is on the verge of being swept away in the near future,” said Duong Van Mau, party secretary of Hoi Ky Village.

Crops have also been swept away. “Last year’s flood season and early rain in June this year have affected over a hectare of crops. Six houses in the villages are on the verge of being swept away. We’ve asked authorities to deal with the situation, but, no action has been taken to date,” said village head Duong Van Cho.

The 500 year-old wooden houses in the village are some of the oldest in Quang Tri Province. Local house owner Duong Van Manh said he was very worried about the risk, but did not know how to cope with the problem. Several years ago, he had to spend his own money to buy soil to deal with the landslides, but the river bed was full of stones, so it was impossible to use stakes to retain the soil. Over the past two years, rows of bamboo and the concrete road have been also attacked, leaving the old houses at risk.

Vice Chairman of People’s Committee of Hai Chanh Commune Hoang Huu Suu said local authorities had informed higher levels of the problems many times and also instructed households to move to safer places in cases of landslides. However, the commune is short of funds to improve the situation.