The Thao River has recently received strong flows of water from upstream areas following heavy rains and flash floods, causing its bank to badly erode. A section of 700 metres of the riverbank including a 355-metre dyke has faced the most serious erosion, threatening the lives of over 1,000 households in Ban Nguyen and Vinh Lai communes.
A vast area of crops along the river bank has fallen into the water as the erosion has continued to expand.
Head of Village 14 in Ban Nguyen Commune, Nguyen Van Quan, said that the erosion had eaten up a large area of banana plantation and is now only 25 metres from local houses.
"Our houses are being threatened if the situation is not dealt with soon," he said.
Vice chairman of Ban Nguyen Commune People's Committee, Nguyen Dinh Nam, said that local authorities were closely watching the erosion situation in the area and seeking measures to protect residents.
“We've set up warning signs and sent a team to guard and monitor the situation in these areas," he said. "We'll try to deal with the problems to ensure the safety of local people."
The Phu Tho Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked the local people's committee for VND30 billion to deal with the situation.
After a visit to the site on August 8, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Le Minh Hoan asked local authorities to urgently send a detailed report on the situation so that he would propose some proper measures to the prime minister to solve the problem.
