Unaccountable landslides have been happening on Moc Son Mountain, often called Cockscomb Mountain, the only mountain in the 5-mountain Ngu Hanh Son area which hasn’t seen any tourism activities.
Tourists can only contemplate Moc Son, which stands up straight against the sky, from places on the other 4 mountains. Moc Son used to be the victim of illegal rock exploitation which served the needs of the Non Nuoc sculpture and fine arts village in the 1980-1990 period. Rock exploitation activities are now rarely seen here, though in 2003, a resident from Hoa Hai Ward, Da Nang City, was charged with rock exploitation and sentenced to prison.
However, there are signs of recent landslides happening on the eastern and southern sides of Moc Son Mountain which can be seen clearly from the Son Tra-Dien Ngoc coastal road. Rocks of several m3 are scattered on the sides and at the foot of the mountain.The presence of macadam and powdered rock at the sites of landslides would seem to indicate that these landslides weren’t natural ones. Asked whether there was any factor that could have caused them, Vice Chairman of the Hoa Hai Ward People’s Committee Huynh Phuoc Thach said, “There is absolutely no rock exploitation around Ngu Hanh Son.”Mr. Thach said that the rocks scattered on Moc Son had been caused by natural landslides. It is strange, however, that these so-called “natural landslides” have only happened in uninhabited areas of the mountain.
Hundreds of households are living at the foot of Moc Son Mountain, which has almost no slope. On the western side, people conveniently build their houses against cliffs.If landslides continue to occur, they would indeed be disastrous for these residents. In March 2007, the Da Nang City People’s Committee issued new detailed construction regulations for residential zones in the Ngu Hanh Son area. Yet, construction activities are still being carried out in a haphazard manner.Ngu Hanh Son, one of the few attractive tourism destinations around Da Nang City, now has to deal with landslides in addition to alarming environmental pollution. Responsible authorities in Da Nang, however, haven’t taken any resolute actions to handle these problems
