Mekong River offshoot erodes like a drill

A sediment-poor Mekong River branch cutting through An Giang Province is causing erosion due to rapid water flow.

A three kilometer section of Hau River, a branch of the Mekong, is straitened by half in width when passing through An Giang’s Chau Phu District.

Besides this natural occurrence, the operation of upstream Mekong dams and overexploitation of sand along the river has caused erosion to eat away at nearby National Highway 91, according to experts.

In the past 10 years, erosion has thrice struck this section of Hau River, with a 500 m highway stretch pulled into the water in Binh My Commune.

Most recently, another 40 m of the highway collapsed into the river on May 27 after a crack appeared four days earlier.

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Cuu Long