Why the Landslides Destroyed Buildings in Hakha?

Landslides occur each year around Hakha City especially Dawrthar Market block experiences more heavy losses because of its unstable surface. 11 homes were partially or totally destroyed by the landslides as of June 12, 2013 and 10 houses were relocated to a safe place by local people.

Khonumthung Chin News Group reported in June 13, 2013 that "the landslide affected the house of Pu Chung Hmung, Pu Za Thawng Cin, Pi Sung Tial, Pu Biak Nawl, Pu Thang Cung, Pu Zo Bawi, Pu Tial Hnin, Pu Kheng Tawi and the Chin Taungtan Restaurant. Two other households were also affected. The landslide was monitored by Pu Ngun San Aung, Minister of Road Communication of Chin State and Pu Tam Aung, Minister of Municipal Affairs."

These particular landslides caused heavy losses among some families in Hakha. Particularly the value of houses in Dawrthar Market blocks are 20-50 millions kyats in Burmese currency and it is a huge loss for the community. This landslide is pretty normal in this area and the people needs to be aware of the risk of constructing new building in this particular areas. If they don't think about the landslide like this they would face this similar damage in the future.

I saw many cracks in Dawrthar Market blocks while I was in the city back in 1997. I visited to Zion Baptist Church building which I have the most concern. I walked along the Hakha-Matupi Road, Cherry Road and then to Zion Church and around the No.1 High School and south of Hakha General Hospital and the back of the grave site of Rev. Arthur Carson. I saw hundreds of big and long cracks everywhere in the lower parts of the city. Many tons of top soil, dirt, rock and sands moved downward each year.

It migh be a vary weakness of solid rock underneath the surface of the slope of the Hakha city and the whole city is perhaps moving downward in a very slow process landslides. People would not see it or notice it because the move is very slowly and very minimal. But the city could be wiped out when the foundation of the city slope is collapsed in thousand of years from now. The moving of the land caused the unstable soil and it caused the damage of the structures around the cities. The damages are gradual and slow and people are not panic. But houses are slowly destroyed by the moving of the landslide.

Hakha is not the only place landlide in the Chin State there are many places. The following is a report from Chinland guardian and other sources about landslides in the Chin State.

The Chinlandguardian.com reported in October 7, 2013 that "At least 768 landslides occurred across the Chin State between 21 August and 11 September 2013 according to the Chin State government statistic."  The highest number of landslides had been reported on the Mindat-Matupi Road, followed by Hakha-Falam_Kalay Road, Tiddim-Tonzang road and Tiddim-Taingen Road.

                    Photo: Chinlandguardian.com

Landslides are mostly triggered by heavy rains and steel slope of the region. The Chin State have heavy rains normally in the monsoon and the ground is very wet and the surface of the solid rock underneath the slope is unstable and heavy. 

The steep slope is cut to construct the road. The upper part of the road is high and the soil slowly moved downward when the top soil is wet and heavy when the rain is heavy. Therefore there are many landslides especially on the card roads. Rural car roads are constructed and maintained by the local communities with their own expenses but the car roads between the cities are maintained by the government. 

Landslides damaged buildings, villages, bridges and fields each year which brought great losses to the government and the local communities every year. Hakha had experienced the heavy losses due to the landslides in the city every year because of its unstable steep slope and land. Some noticeable buildings had moved downward each year in Dawrthar Sang. The government needs to do a geological survey each year in Hakha whether the buildings are stable in some areas.

Predicting Landslide in Hakha City

Hakha is the capital city of Chin State, Myanmar. The population is estimated at 25,000 (2013). The area is about 12.5 sq miles. It is situated on 6,120 ft above sea level on the foot of popular Mountain Rungtlang whicah peak is about 7,543 ft above sea level. 

Hakha is in the middle of the Chin State and is connected with Gangaw-Monywa Highway in the East; Falam-Kalay Highway in the North; Matupi-Mindat-Kanpalet Rood in the South and Thantlang-Saisihchuak Rd in the west and Hakha-Hmantaw-Kalay Road in the Northeast.  Therefore "Hakha is a commercial center and the Crossroads of Chin State." It wil be an international trade center between Bangladesh, Myanmar, India. Buhtan, Nepal and China because of it stretegic location.

Hakha has a very beautiful scenery. There are many beautiful pine trees around the city that make Hakha more beautiful. There many red rhododendrons on Runtlang Mountain. Cherry flowers blossom in the winter and it beaitify the City like a Japanese city. The small valley of Nawi is so beautiful and I compare it to California in the USA. The valley of Timit and Thita is beyound description. It is a paradise of the Chinland. I walked there countless times on foot. 

All these are the good parts of Hakha but there are the sad parts of Hakha as well. Hakha has so many landslide within and the vicinity of the city.  I attended No. 1 SHS Hakha in 1983-84 School Year. I had opportunities to visit many places and around the city and I knew the city landscape so well. 
 I walked so many places around the vicinity of Hakha so many times. I discovered many deep and large cracks around the city especially in the lower part of the city in 1982-84. 

I visited cheched those areas again and again whenver I visited Hakha until I left it in 1997. I visited to Zion Church area in that particular year. I had had so much concerns about the landslide in the city in that time. I visited to many parts of Hakha area and I foresee the destruction of the city more and less in the near future if there is s trong earthquake or heavy monsoon rains that can grigger the most dangerous and destructive landslides in around the city. I predicted this so many times among the Chin people. 

I found that the landlide in Hakha area are "slow motion landlide" and people do not notice it. In fact, the whole city is moving down ward very slowly may be 1 mm a year and it is so small and people do not feel it or notice it. But in some places it slowly destroyed houses slowly. In many areas houses moved down and collapsed slowly because of land sift. 

I noticed the worst parts of Hakha area are as follows:

1. The southside of Civil Hospital
2. Beltway between Old Hakha and New Hakha (It is southside of Civil Hospital)
3. Hospital Ward between the Civil Hospital and Chin-Oo-Sii; there are so many cracks here.
4. The back side of the Grave of Rev. Arthur Carson
5. Keisihsang Ward (Lower part of Dawrthar) including Pyine Thitdaw Zung area
6. Dawrthar Ward especially Taungzalat Lan and around Zion Baptist Church
7. Upper and lower parts of Hakha-Matupi Road from Lunghleiva-Auto Telephone zung
8. Upper and Lower parts of Gangaw-Hakha Road 
9. Many areas near most of the streams within Hakha City
10. Lower Part of Old Hakha (Khuachung).
11. Around the Lansone Area (the Border of Pyidawtha and Dawrthar)

I visited Sizung Ward the last time in 1997 and followed the a big crack between Sizung Sang and Chin-oo-Sii. The crack was so large and long. It was so dangerous but the government issued building permits to many families in that area. I  had no idea why the authorities issued building permits in that kind of dangerous places? And wy do many families tried to build houses there? I was shocked for the government plan.

I came to USA in 1997 but Hakha was always in my mind. I always think about that city. In 1988 Zion Baptist Church asked me to write an article oy my choice while I was in Dayton. So, I wrote about the imminent danger of landslide in Hakha. It was printed in Zion Par Makazine Vol.2 (February 2011). 

I looked the shape of Runtlang and the landscape of Hakha and I strongly believed that Runtlang was in one point thicker and bigger. But for some reasons it cracked and collapsed. So, I wrote in that article that "Rungtlang probably collapsed due to strong earthquake many thousand years ago and its "leivawr" (dust/rocks/sands etc) went down and rested in Pyidawtha and Dawrthar. And the proper city of Hakha actucally is established on Leivawr (dust). It may collapsed again in the near future." I also predicted that some parts of Rungtlang may be collapsed again like in the past. 

By looking its shape and the landscape in Paliklen, Pyidawtha and Dawrthar, I firmly believed that Rungtlang was cracked severely and collapsed violently many thousand years ago by eathquake or the torrential rains. The Chin State is not far from Sagaing Fault in the east and a plate tectonics boundaryin the west and it was probably hit by earthquake many thousand years ago. 

Therefore, I have always concerns for Hakha city because of its natural landscape, weak surface, steep slope, soft soil and rains and waters.  I predicted that the landslides that could create havoc and huge losses in the city since many houses are way over Kyats 3,500 lakh. If one house collapse it is a huge loss for the city. 

Therefore, I thought doing landslife survey is an urgent important issue for Hakha City and I requested the CBCUSA BT representatives at Dallas BT Meeting (March 2012) to provide $2,000 in order to do the landslide survey around Hakha city. We formed I committee "Hakha Leimin Research Tuahnak" as follows:

1.  Chairman------------Pu Chan Hrem
2. Recorder--------------Rev. Lal Pek Lian
3. Geologist-------------Pa Van Lian Thang
4. Helper----------------Pa Ceu Chin Thang
5. Oversea Advisor--  Rev. Dr. Hai Vung Lian le Rev. Dr. C. Duh Kam, USA

I wrote an article about Landslide and our committee in the Muko Makazine. I asked the Muko's editor by email whether he received my article. He told me that "Vung, 11 houese have been collapsed since I got your article. We will print it right this week." His words saddended my heart. My article was published in June 2013. 

This committee targeted 9 places to do a through survey around Hakha city where the cracks, the landlides and, land sifts are so clear and destrcution is imminent. 

The purpose were to count how many visual big cracks around the city; to measure them their length and width in general; to take a picture and video record; to produce a computer map and to predict what could happen in the future and to advocate the residents of Hakha to move their homes to a safer places; to produce a paper with a detail map of the danger of landslide in Hakha and to submit it to the Chin State Government so that they may understand the need and importance of creating the new Hakha city and to draw a modern new city plan for Hakha in a safer places like in the New Hakha and to open a new city between Chuncung Village and New Hakha; between New Hakha an Ritkuangtlang near Timit River. 

In order to achieve this plan I created a blog in January 2015 to collect data of landslide in the vicinity of Hakha. Afew years ago I precicted that Hakha is in imminent danger and some day the city will collapse and people could face huge losses and problems in the near furure if they do not move to a safer location. I always suggested in my article that the Chin State government needs to draw a modern city plan for Hakha before its destructions by landslide.