A section of sea dyke on My Khe Beach in Danang damaged by erosion. - Courtesy of Nguyen Thanh
DANANG: Erosion has washed away a 100m section of sand and dike on the pristine My Khe Beach on the Son Tra peninsula, threatening the entertainment, trade and tourism sites on the beach.
The Son Tra Tourism management division said uninterrupted rain and rising sea waves in the last three weeks damaged up to 20m of dyke and walkways on the beach.
Some of the concrete dyke’s foundation has been exposed, forcing local traders to move their bars to safer places.
Earlier erosion was found at Man Thai Beach, 3km away from My Khe Beach.
Sandbags and bamboo piles have been used to reinforce the beach dyke before an emergency plan to protect the beach is launched by the city.
The worst erosion recorded on the Danang coast in recent years has caused residents to worry that the beach could soon disappear if no protection measures are proposed.
Older fishermen living in coastal villages on the Son Tra Peninsula recalled that a large forest of casuarina trees, which had been growing since the 1960s, had helped protect the beach from erosion.
However, rapid development of beach hotels and resorts has gradually chipped away at the natural ‘green’ dyke.
The fishermen also said the coastline had long ago been protected by coral reefs all along the beach, but the reef was damaged in the 1980s.
Danang, which has 90km of coastline, is home to 11 public beaches.
Erosion has damaged 200m on Cua Dai Beach in neighbouring Hoi An over the past few weeks.
The central province of Quang Nam has called an emergency over the situation at Cua Dai Beach, where a rapid response has been prepared to save the beach from the worst damage.
Erosion has been recorded in Cua Dai Beach over the past few decades.
At a recent scientific conference, experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that the serious erosion of the coastline in Quang Nam and Danang is caused by rising sea levels, poor management of the Vu Gia-Thu Bon river system and rapid urbanisation. - Vietnam News/ANN
