Scores of houses in Vietnam’s south-western province of An Giang were dragged into a riverbank on Saturday due to problems of erosion and unauthorised building.

According to local media, the incident saw 70-metres of land sink into the Vam Nao river – bringing along 14 houses and two house floors.

A road connecting My Hoi Dong Commune and Nhon My Commune was also damaged and isolated.

The damages are estimated to cost a total of VND$8.8 billion – the equivalent of A$516,000.

No deaths were reported from Saturday’s event, but a state of emergency was declared.

It is believed many of the homes were built without proper planning permission and builders ignored the threat of erosion.

– TiVi Tuan-san