The natural boundary between Vietnam and Laos, the Se Pon River, crumbled, altering the lower border of the river and displacing people from their homes and agricultural land.

“The landslide has been happening since the 2020 rainy season until now,” said Ho Van Linh, a 25-year-old resident of Lao Bao town, Huong Hoa district. As time goes on, the amount of land suitable for farming shrinks. The lush soil that his family had farmed on the 2,000-m2 mudflat washed away into the Se Pon riverbed as the land gradually degraded. Tragically, Mr. Linh's family won't be able to harvest their corn and sweet potatoes in the 2023 season since the remaining land area is very steep, has a hard time retaining water, and produces dirt and gravel. Sweet potatoes are collected and fed to cows since they are stunted and lack tubers, whereas corn only grows plants that are waist-high, therefore not corn.

Yen Thuan villager and resident of Tan Long commune, Mr. Pham Van Du, 47 years old, lives in constant fear of a landslide since his home is located more than 20 meters from the Se Pon River's bank. As soon as it starts to rain, he and his family must remain up all night to divert the water and get their belongings to safety as soon as possible.

Three years ago, during the previous flood season, Mr. Nguyen Van Tu's house was close to Mr. Du's, and half of it washed away as water engulfed his family. The family's bedroom happened to be on the other side, so they found a way to escape. Immediately after the devastating landslide, the adjacent families of Mr. Nguyen Van Tu and Nguyen Van Thuan relocated to a safer location.

In late May 2023, an interdisciplinary team in Quang Tri Province conducted a survey in response to the landslide's complex and tragic circumstances. According to the study, 65 families had their property and dwellings affected by fourteen separate landslide sections, ranging in width from fifteen to sixty meters, that stretched from the river's edge to the beach and traversed Lao Bao town, Tan Thanh, Tan Long, and Thuan Thanh communes. The total length of the landslide segment was twelve and a half kilometers.

The examination concluded that the Se Pon River's short length, steep topography, rapid water flow, many bends, sandy and unsustainable riverbank geology, and the unpredictable developments of the 2021 and 2022 floods are the main factors contributing to the severe bank erosion.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Phan Manh Truong, the commissar of the Lao Bao Border Guard Station, the issue of bank erosion on our side grows in both extent and depth every year, while landslides are uncommon on the Lao side of the river due to the river's hard soil and numerous rocks.

According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Manh Truong, one of the challenges in managing and protecting territorial sovereignty is the fact that landslides make it impossible to precisely establish the boundary, which is decided in the middle of the river.

The Quang Tri Border Guard's commander, Colonel Le Van Phuong, stated that the Quang Tri Border Guard had approached the provincial people's committee of Quang Tri with a proposal for a survey, design, and construction study plan for an embankment to prevent landslides. Getting this done quickly is crucial if we want to lessen the impact of landslides and get people's lives back on track.

Samuooi district in Salavan province and Noong district in Savannakhet province, Laos are the watersheds from which the 59.7-kilometer-long Se Pon River flows west of Truong Son mountain. In the region between the two nations, the river travels northwest through the communes of A Doi, Lia, Thanh, Thuan, Tan Long, Tan Thanh, and Lao Bao town (Huong Hoa district). It then continues to flow westward and supplies water to Laos./.