Landslide blocks national highway in central Vietnam

The mountainside, located about 7 km away from Huong Son District’s Cau Treo border gate, saw a 50 m section slide down and fully cover a 10m wide section of National Highway 8A.

The landslide has blocked traffic, preventing vehicles from going to Laos and districts like Vu Quang, Huong Khe and Duc Tho, and stopped vehicles from going towards National Highway 1.

Border guards at the Cau Treo border gate have deployed 20 people to cooperate with authorities and reroute traffic, erect warning signs and patrol the road.

"Due to heavy rain, strong winds and thick fog, it’s difficult to clear the blocked road," a representative of the Cau Treo border guards said.

At 11 a.m., authorities managed to clean up three places using excavators. With favorable weather conditions, traffic should return to normal in another day, they said.

Storm Noru's sideeffects have seen heavy downpours drench Ha Tinh over the last two days, with certain areas recording rainfall as high as 330 mm. The rains have weakened soil structure, making it more vulnerable to erosion, officials said.

Hundreds of families in the mountainous districts of Huong Son and Huong Khe districts are still isolated by inundated roads, forcing manny people to travel by boats.