Cracks appearing all over Central Highlands, forcing evacuations

Thi Phi, 30, left her home in Quang Truc Commune two days ago after cracks appeared on its floor and walls. She's been living alone in the house, made of wood and concrete and given by her parents and it has been structurally intact for a long time.

But after a string of heavy rains, multiple cracks showed up one morning on August 1. They were all over the floor and the walls; some as wide as 5 cm.

The ground has sunk next to a house in Quang Truc Commune, Dak Nong District, August 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Oanh

Phi later discovered that several houses in the area were suffering the same fate.

"I've lived here for dozens of years and have never seen this before," Phi said, adding that she had gone and stayed with her parents, about 10 km away, for the time being upon authorities' request. She said she does not know when her life would return to normal.

About 80 km away from Quang Truc Commune, authorities on August 2 also found a 20 m section of National Highway 14, which runs through downtown Gia Nghia Town, was cracked open. Cracks also appeared on houses along the road, forcing authorities to evacuate 48 people from the area. The same day, two large cracks, 300 m long and up to 2 m wide, were also discovered in two villages of Dak Song District.

Doan Minh Thuan, deputy chairman of the Quang Truc Commune, said the cracks were only around 200 m long at first, before extending to 1.5 km. While the cracks have seemingly stopped getting longer, they continued to become wider, he added.

To ensure safety, around 200 people have been evacuated, most of them now taking refuge in schools, while the rest stay with their relatives.

At the same time, a neighborhood next to the Dong Thanh reservoir project in Lam Ha District of Lam Dong Province have also seen cracks spanning around 30 cm. Some cracks were as wide as 50 cm, indenting the ground below the houses and sinking them by around 1.5 m.

Cracks appear on the ground and the walls of a house next to Dong Thanh reservoire in Lam Ha District, Lam Dong Province, August 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Dang Khoa

Nguyen Van Thang, a local, said his house costs VND3.7 billion ($155,822) and was just completed early this year. However, a series of heavy rains have caused the ground to sink, bringing the house with it. Both Thang's family and his neighbors had to be evacuated for safety.

Previously on July 30, rocks and rubbles on the Bao Loc Pass in Lam Dong fell down and buried a traffic police headquarters, killing four people. There are still 163 locations throughout Lam Dong which are prone to erosion and landslide, according to official statistics.

Tran Van Hiep, chairman of the Lam Dong Province People's Committee, said there needs to be daily monitoring and geological evaluation so a solution to the widespread erosion and landslides could be reached. Scientists and experts need to be brought in as well so they could come to a conclusion about the what caused the problems and how to prevent them, Hiep said.

A giant, gaping crack is seen on a road running through Ea Drang Town, Dak Lak Province. Photo by vnExpress/Ngoc Oanh

Tran Van Tan, an expert from the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources, said long-lasting rains may have caused the soil to get heavier over time, reducing their durability and causing cracks and erosion.

"Cracks are one of the first signs of a landslide. When cracks appear they would make noises like an explosion," he said, adding that such landslides could be predicted, and in the long run, authorities need to create a map for early warning of such risks.

Vu Ngoc Long, former head of the Southern Institute of Ecology, said the erosion has to do with land use, groundwater extraction and the use of chemicals to clean surfaces, causing a loss of plants.

"Every negative impact would add up, and we will learn that the hard way," he said, adding that the phenomenon would not stop.

Long said authorities need to re-evaluate land use and need to pay attention to the role of forests in fighting climate change.