Four men are feared to have died following a landslide in the Tây Hòa District of Phú Yên Province in south-central Vietnam. The men left the villages of Tinh Tho and My Binh on a hunting trip on Friday 22 November 2013. A search on Saturday 23 November discovered the bodies of three of the men, Truong Quoc Cong (33) and Bui Cong Khai (30) from Tinh Tho, and and Pham Ngoc Nghia (31) from My Binh buried among the rubble from a landslide. The fourth man, Luong Ngoc Tinh (34) from Tinh Tho is still missing, and is believed to be buried beneath the landslide. Debris from the event reportedly covered about 800 m of slope and included numerous large trees.
Rescue workers searching for the missing hunters at the site of the 22 November 2013 Tây Hòa landslide. Talk Vietnam.
Vietnam has a single rainy season lasting from May to September, and usually has low rainfall in November. However an unseasonal tropical depression passed over the country in the days before the landslide brining 180 mm of rain in a day in places. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.
The approximate location of the 22 November 2013 Tây Hòa landslide. Google Maps.
See also Landslide kills four people at Paris Beach, north Sumatra, Family has close escape as landslide hits house in Penampang, Malaysia, Worker killed by landslide in Vietnam, Five killed and four injured in Yunnan Landslide and Three construction workers killed in landslip at Kuala Lumpur construction site.
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