The sinking of land in the Mekong Delta region is worsening, with its urban areas showing the highest rate of sinking, at a rate that is four times faster than in the countryside.

Some Vietnamese scientists believe the finding that Vietnam’s Mekong Delta will be under water by 2050 is reliable, and that Vietnam needs to be more active in implementing measures to delay subsidence and fight floods.

The authorities of Ba Ria-Vung Tau have suspended an aquarium project that has already reclaimed thousands of square meters of land in the sea, as experts and the public have voiced their objections, fearing coastal subsidence.

The large-scale encroachment of the sea to develop an aquarium project in Ba Ria-Vung Tau will have a long-term effect on the local environment and cause subsidence in coastal areas.

 VietNamNet Bridge – Up to four centimetres of land subsidence occurs in the Mekong Delta each year, and exploitation of groundwater is one of several factors causing it.

 VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City was seriously flooded by a heavy rain that lasted more than half an hour on the evening of August 18. Experts say that flooding is getting worse in the city.

After a family in Quoc Oai District, Hanoi, drilled a well, subsidence occurred in the neighborhood, unnerving locals. Geological experts say the phenomenon may have been caused by underground caverns and the weak soil or sand layers above them.