Final Hazard Report
Vietnam's Hazard Report
After researching on the country of Vietnam and learning about the many hazards the country experiences there are a few key hazards that are considered as the most hazardous. These very hazards consist of coastal erosion and landslides. The reason for choosing these two specific hazards is due to the fact that other hazards take a part in these two hazards happening often. The main reason for landslides happening continuously is because of certain places like mountainous regions getting heavy rainfall that lasts for weeks which weakens the sediment. As for coastal erosion it happens due to the constant crashing of waves as well as tropical cyclones which consist of 60% of Vietnam's storms which affect the marine zone. These two events are also the reason why many people lose their lives throughout the years.
Not only that but the reason why the country experiences such things in general is due to the location of the country. Vietnam is located in the monsoon belt of Southeast Asia and since it also has a very diverse topography such as having a large coastline it is prone to suffer many types of hazards such as the two mentioned. Just to give an image of how bad these two hazards are for example in terms of coastal erosion 3-4 meters of land is getting destroyed each year and these eroded areas are 1km in length. This also consists of the coast being pushed inland 200m or more inland which probably results in many people being relocated/displaced elsewhere. As for landslides it has resulted in 30,000 people being affected and 2,940 being displaced which is just one event that took place. Not only that but landslides are a major factor aside from floods that result in people in Vietnam loosing their lives or getting greatly injured. It also results in the blockage of roads/paths which are an inconvenience since then people aren't able to get to destination for a long tine since the roads would have to be rebuilt.
For these very reasons of displacement, lose of life, and damage to buildings is why these hazards are a priority in addressing. Not to mention since the country experiences landslides and coastal erosion very frequent due to the amount of rain and other storms means that the cost of redevelopment is high. As for what I recommend the country to do to mitigate these hazards is by first making an alert system that addresses all the hazards that the country experiences. Then the second most important thing I would do is to make sure the country makes a hazard map showing areas that get the most affected by coastal erosion/landslides and to make sure its updated every year. Another good recommendation on how to mitigate these two hazards is by implementing a course on hazards in the education system. This so that the youth can learn the dangers of these hazards and to know what to do to stay safe in the case of such an event. Some other things I would ask to be done is to provide all households with an emergency kit and to not build anymore houses/buildings in the areas prone to the two hazards talked about. By doing this it will reduce the amount of casualties and people injured as well as a decrease in displacing people.
Furthermore the areas that I would target first in helping when it comes to these hazards are the coastal communities and mountainous areas where it is more likely to happen. The reason that these areas are first when it comes to helping is because 70% of the country's population is located in the coast or in low lying deltas. On the other hand the mountainous areas consist of 24 million people living in those areas which consist mostly of ethnic minorities. With this being said since a large amount of ethnic minorities live in the mountainous areas it is most likely that they don't have much wealth. By not having money these individuals when struck by a landslide wouldn't be able to afford to rebuild their homes which is why the government should put them as a priority when it comes to mitigating. In the case of coastal communities which makes up 70% of the population it means that they will get hit the most in terms of storms since storms tend to hit the nearest surface it can find which are the coasts. With the constant hitting of storms in the coast the land erodes faster leaving most people in the coast without homes and having to move elsewhere. That is one common thing that both hazards do in terms of affecting people.
Additionally I would personally build my home away from the coast since it's bound to keep eroding because of the crashing waves. The other thing would be away from the mountainous areas. Specifically though I would place my home at a good distance away from the coast as well as mountainous areas making it less prone to be hit be these hazards. In the case of landslides I would place my home in either Hau Giang or Binh Duong since they're very low risk areas. On the other hand in the case of coastal erosion I would place my home in an area like Gia Lia since it's at a good distance away from the coast. The area is also for the most part at low risk from other hazards as we including landslides. If I where to choose between these places the best one would be Gia Lia since it has the least risk out of the ones mentioned in terms of other hazards as well as landslides being a low risk and coastal erosion not being a problem since its not near the coast making it less likely to get hit by other types of storms as well since coastal areas receive most of the storms that the country experiences.
Overall though it was interesting to learn about the many hazards that Vietnam experiences but coastal erosion and landslides are what caught my attention the most. Not only that but it was interesting to hear that because of other hazards is why these two happen often. This also explains the rate in which landslides and coastal erosion happen since the constant crash of waves is not going to be stopped sooner or later. On the other hand the country's location as said before is why the country unfortunately will always experience large amounts of rainfall that trigger the landslides to happen. This explains why landslides and coastal erosion are one of the two most dangerous hazards that Vietnam experiences.
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