HAKHA LAY, Chin State — Hundreds of newly displaced families in this small village in Chin State wait hopefully for relief in temporary shelters after a landslide wiped away their homes and belongings.
Situated in the remote state’s Tonzang Township, just under three hours by car from Kale, the town has suffered greatly since severe floods struck the state in late July and early August. Weeks after major rains subsided, Hakha Lay remains in danger of landslides.
In recent weeks, waters trapped by debris further up the nearby hillside came crashing down, toppling homes and trees. The displaced have since set up camp in the surrounding areas, which are difficult to reach and have only very poor roads. The encampment has no running water and no toilets.
The residents recalled frightening sounds around midnight just before the muddy water flooded into the town after a nearby natural reservoir was breached.
“Water came first, then later we heard the roars of mudslide,” said Van Oak Lin, and ethnic Chin man who now resides in one of the camp’s small blue tents.
Rescue teams slowly reached the area by small roads that were extremely difficult to pass. Some people can only move about the camp by walking on felled logs.
A team leader for the Chin Youth Association from Tamu Township, who had organized a group of 200 youths to carry out a rescue mission, described the damages he found when he arrived at Hakha Lay. The houses he entered were filled with mud, he said, and most of the locals had already fled without their belongings.
“The water has a muddy appearance when we look at the river,” the young man said, worried that another breach of nearby natural dams could lead to even further devastation. “This very strange, not normal. There could be another collapse from the upper valleys.”
