On January 11, records in the Cai River area flowing through Da Trang village showed that the water level had receded, but the suspension bridge more than 90m long only had two abutments left, connected by dense cables.
The iron frame of the bridge was knocked out by floods, drifting into the riverbank; dry trees and garbage were piled up on cables, and white sand washed up on both banks.
Since the bridge was swept away, the travel, living and production of dozens of households in the village have faced countless difficulties.
Ms. Ly Khem (28 years old) said that every few days, her family has to go by boat across the river to buy food, necessities and gasoline.
If choosing roads, people have to follow trails around mountains, dense trees, a distance of more than ten kilometers and can only travel by motorbike.
Swimming across the river is only suitable for healthy young people. This is very dangerous, especially when the water rises or flows fast," Ms. Khem said.
To maintain traffic, people in the village tied a large rope across the river surface as a sticking point.
When crossing the river, everyone gets on a boat, sticks to the ropes to pull themselves to the other side.
This method helps shorten the distance but contains many risks, especially on heavy rainy days.
In the North of the Cai River, there are mainly fields of local people, sparsely populated.
Mr. A Nien (80 years old) said that when the water level is low, people can still go by boat across the river, but every time they pass, they are constantly worried.
We hope the government will soon rebuild the bridge so that people can travel and transport goods safely," Mr. A Nien expressed.
At the end of November 2025, Mr. Ha Nhon (34 years old) stood up to mobilize more than 12 million VND to buy ropes, cables, and poles to temporarily connect the two banks of the river.
He also made a floating raft from a plastic drum, bought an old boat and became an unwilling "boat driver" for the whole village.
Every day, Mr. Nhon and another person take turns making dozens of boat trips carrying people and goods.
His hands were swollen and scratched from pulling the ropes, but he still persistently supported the people, even pulling motorbikes across the river for people to go to the fields.
Each time like that, you have to wait for a large number of people to help push the car to the steep bank.
Not only affecting daily life, the suspension bridge being swept away also has a heavy impact on agricultural production and consumption.
Both sides of the river are mainly ethnic minorities living, the main source of income is pig and chicken farming and farming. The transportation of agricultural products and production materials becomes extremely difficult when traffic is cut off.
According to the People's Committee of Nam Khanh Vinh commune (Khanh Hoa province), in addition to the Khanh Nam suspension bridge, two other suspension bridges in the commune were completely swept away by floods during the floods in mid-November 2025.
These are all works on the traffic axis connecting residential areas with production land, so when the bridge is damaged, people's travel and transportation of goods are seriously interrupted.
Ms. Le Thi Kim Hoa - Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Nam Khanh Vinh commune (Khanh Hoa) - said that currently, people's travel and transportation of agricultural and forestry products is mainly by boat, not ensuring safety.
On days of heavy rain and rising water, the locality is forced to ask people to temporarily stop crossing the river to prevent accidents.
Faced with the urgent needs of the people, Khanh Hoa province has agreed on the policy of allocating capital to build new and repair damaged suspension bridges and some traffic works in the commune," Chairman of Nam Khanh Vinh Commune People's Committee (Khanh Hoa) shared.
