Around 3 PM, residents living along National Highway 27 in Lac Thien 2 village discovered a crack running approximately 300 meters along the slope of Ba La Xanh hill. The crack was over 20 centimeters wide, with some sections sinking by nearly 1 meter. At the base of the hill, the retaining wall behind several homes had collapsed, sending soil and rocks cascading into farming areas.

Soil and rocks from the collapsed hillside spilled downwards. Photo: Minh Bang

Soil and rocks from the collapsed hillside spilled downwards. Photo: Minh Bang

Following a survey, the D'ran commune People's Committee promptly mobilized and evacuated 32 households living below the hill. Residents were moved to relatives' homes in nearby areas, and their belongings were transported to warehouses for safekeeping.

Truong Quang Kien, Vice Chairman of D'ran commune People's Committee, stated that in addition to Ba La Xanh hill, the commune has two other potential landslide sites in Duong Moi and Phu Thuan 1 villages. Authorities had already relocated 10 households and their assets from these areas. By the evening of 23/11, the complete evacuation of residents from all hazardous zones was finalized.

The crack extended along the hillside. Photo: Minh Bang

The crack extended along the hillside. Photo: Minh Bang

Recent floods caused extensive damage across D'ran commune. Late on 19/11, prolonged heavy rain combined with the Don Duong reservoir (Da Nhim - Ham Thuan - Da Mi Hydropower Company) discharging over 2,500 cubic meters per second, resulted in severe flooding in residential areas at the foot of the dam in D'ran and Ka Do. Over 750 people were evacuated and rescued by authorities.

After the flood, 15 homes collapsed or were swept away. Over 1,320 hectares of crops were submerged and damaged. Rural transportation routes suffered landslides and damage, and many schools had machinery and facilities ruined by flooding. The total estimated damage exceeded 440 billion VND.

Truong Ha - Khanh Huong