Ho Chi Minh City’s transportation authorities will test the effectiveness of the georadiation method developed by a Vietnamese scientist in detecting sinkholes on city streets.
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| Officials inspect a sinkhole on a Ho Chi Minh City street. |
A city official who did not want to be named said that the decision to test the method was taken after the device made by Vu Van Bang, deputy chief of the Institute of Water and Environment Technology, was presented at a conference on Tuesday.
The conference was held by the Department of Science and Technology in cooperation with the Department of Construction and the Department of Transport.
Bang said at the conference that his small device can detect places with the risk of developing sinkholes within five minutes, as also measure their possible dimensions.
After the conference, Bang and several scientists tested the device at some local roundabouts and intersections where they found one place at risk of developing a 1.3-1.5 meter deep sinkhole.
The finding was noted by the Department of Transport which would inspect and monitor the site.
As many as 57 sinkholes were recorded between July 15 and December 6 in the southern metro.
These have been blamed on shoddy workers by contractors in covering or repaving streets after completing construction works.
However, some officials have contested this, saying other factors like overexploitation of groundwater resources have to be taken into consideration.
