Landslides lay roads, homes to waste in northern Vietnam

Heavy rains and flash floods that hit the area last has left O Quy Ho pass in Lai Chau province in ruins. Authorities have had to spend hours to clear thousands of cubic meters of rocks that were dumped on the roads. Many parts of the national route have been blocked by landslides. 

Traffic at a standstill on the road from Sa Pa to Lai Chau province.

"We are two families traveling over 150 kilometers from Yen Bai province to Sa Pa. Because of this landslide, we have been stuck here for 12 hours," said Hoa Hoa Tru, 34 (Right). 

Giang A Dua, wearing a plastic sheet. Dua's house is just 3 kilometers away from the landslide, but she and her father cannot go home. 

Locals carry their shoes in their hands to walk on the muddy road.

A man rushes past a mound of mud and rocks dumpbed by a landslide.

A H'mong couple wait for an excavator to clear the road. But as soon as a section was cleared, another big mass of soil was dumped at the same spot. 

Trees and concrete barrier could not withstand the  landslide.

Cranes and bulldozers have been working non-stop at landslide hit areas, but water keeps gushing down in force from the mountain, obstructing the work. 

Lai Chau police have been working non-stop to direct traffic. The damage suffered by the province has been estimated at over VND80 billion ($3.5 million).

In Ha Giang Province, people try to hose and sweep mud from a flood-hit road.

A man using high-pressure water to remove the mud from his household items. Total death in the three provinces Lai Chau, Ha Giang and Lao Cai reached 17 people and 11 are missing as of Tuesday morning. Damage in these provinces has been estimated at VND160 billion ($7 million) thus far.     Landslides lay roads, homes to waste in northern Vietnam Flash floods ravage northern Vietnam