Laws of Vietnam

Over recent years, landslides have occurred at many places along the Tien river banks, causing great losses in lives and property to the local people.

Most of the areas facing the danger of landslides are populated and fertile land, including provincial capitals, district towns and traffic crossings such as Sa Dec provincial capital, Tan Chau and Hong Ngu district towns and My Thuan ferry.

According to surveys by the Ministry of Water Resources and the authorities of Dong Thap and An Giang provinces, large whirlpools more than 40m deep and fissures 3-4 km in length have been detected only a few hundred meters from the river bank.

The Tien and Hau rivers are major lower tributaries of the Mekong river crossing a plain of alluvial soil. The change of the river course, especially at bends, which causes whirlpools eroding the river banks, is a natural phenomenon. According to historical date, this phenomenon has occurred from time to time over centuries, and will continue. It is very likely that this phenomenon is being accelerated in both scope and frequency as a result of unfavorable globalorregional changes in weather, climate, geology and environment. Therefor, scientific research and forecast should be carefully organized with a view to working out a series of technical solutions to deal with the phenomenon of serious landslides at present.

In order to prevent great losses at the places most vulnerable to landslides, the Prime Minister requests the Ministers, the Heads of Government agencies, and the Presents of the People's Committees of the provinces bordering on the Tien and Hau rivers to urgently carry out the following tasks:

1. Under their sponsorship, the Minister of Water Resources and the Chief of the Central Anti-Storm and Anti-Flood Commission shall coordinate with the Ministries and branches concerned and the Chairmen of the People's Committees of the provinces bordering on the Tien and Hau rivers to study and work out comprehensive and systematic solutions to embank the river (where possible), strengthen or re-plan the riverain towns and vital infra-structure facilities in order to effectively prevent landslides on both banks of these rivers on a long-term basis. This forecast and project should be completed and submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration by June 1995 at the latest:

The Central Anti-Storm and Anti-Flood Commission should organize surveys by qualified scientists and send an official forecast to the People's Committees of the provinces concerned and the technical branches in charge of the vital infrastructure facilities along the two river banks. Forecasts should indicate the areas threatened with imminent landslides, the areas likely to face landslides in the next few years, and the areas with a potential risk of landslides.

For the time being, it is necessary to point to the areas threatened with imminent landslides.

2. The Presidents of the People's Committees of Dong Thap and An Giang provinces and the other riverain provinces shall organize immediately the evacuation of the population, public offices, medical stations, schools, markets... from the areas predicted by the Central Anti-Storm and Anti-Flood Commission as threatened with imminent landslides. Measures should be taken to help stabilize the people's life during and after the evacuation.

The President of the People's Committees of the provinces, provincial capitals and districts must inform the population in the region of the danger of landslide and, at the same time, issue the warning and the order for urgent evacuation. Measures must be taken to ensure safety for the lives and property of the State and the people.

The administration at various levels of Dong Thap and An Giang provinces should cooperate with the mass organizations and the chapters of the Vietnam Fatherland Front of the same level to encourage the population to obey the order for evacuation and call on the people in other areas to give material assistance, including land and cash, to those in the areas marked for evacuation.

The State shall devote part of the funds needed to help the poor families move out of the danger areas without much difficulty. The President of the provincial People's Committees and the heads of the provincial boards against storms and floods in the South will consider and propose the sizes of financial aid. As an immediate step, the Prime Minister allows the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to draw money from the funds for permanent settlement and the rural clean water program to grant 4 billion Vietnamese Dong to Dong Thap province and 1 billion Dong to An Giang province to help the poor families to resettle.

3. With regard to those areas threatened with landslides in the next few years, no permit shall be granted to either local people or public offices to build any new project. In planning the construction of population centers, towns, roads and other capital constructions in the Mekong river delta, it is necessary strictly to observe the system of solutions against natural disasters, floods and landslides on the banks of the Tien and Hau rivers and to avoid the areas facing the risk of landslide.

Preventing natural disasters related to the danger of landslide is a vital task in the Mekong river delta. In some cases, urgent measures should be taken with a high sense of responsibility, and in other cases, long-term measures should be studied and taken with a view to a comprehensive solution. The Prime Minister urges the Ministers and the Presidents of the People's Committees of the provinces in the Mekong river delta to directly settle, in their capacity and with their responsibility, all the work mentioned in this instruction.

TRAN DUC LUONG