Vinh Hai coastline faces serious erosion

• Kien Giang asks for government’s support in fixing urgent coastal erosion
• Tra Vinh to relocate 700 erosion-affected households

Vinh Hai is a coastal commune of Thua Thue Hue Province. Every year when the rainy season comes, hundreds of households living in Vinh Hai Commune start to worry that the heavy rain would sweep their houses and property away.

In the rainy season of 2017, the coastline area of Vinh Hai already faced serious erosions with 2.5 kilometers long, which encroached on the residential area. After that, Phu Loc District invested 2.5 billion VND in building a 300m-long sea dyke to prevent erosion.

However, over the past few days, high sea waves broke some locations of the sea dyke, washing away soil and rocks. Without sea dyke, sea waves have overflown provincial road No.21, threatening crops and aquaculture farms of Vinh Hai residents.

Mr. Nguyen Van Loi (residing at hamlet 4, Vinh Hai Commune) said that: "Apart from damaging traffic routes, sea waves have caused saline intrusion in many aquaculture ponds of local households."

Meanwhile, the local tourist sites with accommodations and shops along the coastline have also been damaged by sea waves.

Mr. Nguyen Huu, Chairman of Vinh Hai Commune People's Committee said that the local coastline has seriously been eroded, threatening lives, business and production of 700 households.

He said that, every year before the rainy season, the local authority always mobilizes people and means to reinforce the areas at high risk of erosion, but the erosion still happens when high waves appear.