Going into the flood
As a reporter residing in Ha Tinh assigned to be in charge of the additional area of Nghe An province while my colleague Tran Quang Dai - a reporter residing in Nghe An province was on leave, on the afternoon of July 22, following Nghe An, I received information that in the Western communes, there was very heavy rain, river water rose rapidly, and there was a risk of major floods.
Right now, while in Ha Tinh, I called the Secretary of Nhon Mai Commune (Nghe An Province) to grasp the situation. It was not until the third time that Mr. Mac Van Nguyen - Commune Secretary - called to pick up the phone. Through the phone, Mr. Nguyen said urgently: "The flash flood is terrible, 3 houses have passed, 20 other houses are also at high risk of continuing to be eroded and swept away by flood. Floodwaters have flooded the headquarters of the Party Committee and the headquarters of the commune police for more than 1 meter, many villages have been isolated."
When talking to me, Mr. Nguyen said that he was directly directing the evacuation of more people fleeing floods in vulnerable areas with high risk of landslides. I tried to ask him to take the opportunity to send me some photos and videos of the flood scene. A few minutes later, the photos and videos that Mr. Nguyen sent via zalo, I watched them and was startled, the scene of the flash flood flowing rapidly, rolling as if wanting to sweep away everything on its path of destruction, including houses that were waiting in the stream below and about to overturn into flood water.
After sending information and photos to the "hot" news bulletin, I was worried and nervous and ready to set off for flood work in the West of Nghe An. I contacted acquaintances to ask for a high-chassis pickup truck, to make it more convenient to travel on the mountainous terrain.
Early the next morning, I reported to the leaders of the North Central Representative Office of Lao Dong Newspaper and then left for Nghe An to work in the flood. From Ha Tinh where I live to the communes in the West of Nghe An near the border, the distance is more than 300km. When I first started, I learned that National Highway 7 - the only road to the flooded communes - was deeply flooded, causing complete isolation and road closure in Con Cuong commune (about 150km from the border commune), however, I was determined to set off in the spirit of " stuck wherever, stop working there".
Painful witness to devastating floods
Our pickup truck accelerated from early morning, however, with a long road, when it arrived at Vinh Hoan village, Con Cuong commune, it was already mid-morning. At this time, the authorities had set up barriers and blocked the road on National Highway 7 because it was flooded more than 1.5m deep.
Stuck here, I worked to send many newsletters, photos, and videos from the scene to the newspaper, then listened, waiting for the water to recede to continue the journey back to the thousands. However, that afternoon, the water did not decrease but continued to rise and flow more strongly.
Witnessing the houses being pushed and tilted by the flood, about to flow, the owners helplessly sat and cried, making many people and neighbors cry.
That evening and night, the floodwaters rose rapidly, causing additional flooding in Nhan Hoa commune downstream of Lam river (in the old Anh Son district), about 20km from Con Cuong commune. Local authorities have evacuated 7,000 households. During the night, the sound of children crying while sleeping and having to wake up to evacuate and flee the flood with adults once again haunted me.
The next morning, Mr. Dang Dinh Luc - Chairman of Nhan Hoa commune - said that out of 22,000 households in the whole commune, more than 1/3 of households had their houses flooded, of which hundreds were flooded almost to the roof.
On the afternoon of July 24, National Highway 7 in Con Cuong commune had receded, the floodwaters were gone, the road was filled with mud, but we quickly drove deeper, recording the first images of damage here, when people had just started clearing the mud.
I have been flooded in many places and for many years, but this is the first time I have seen such a terrible amount of mud and soil. There were private houses with mud in more than 1 meter. Clearing the mud was extremely difficult and tiring.
We headed straight up with the goal of reaching the border commune of Muong Xen, My Ly in the upstream of the devastating flood. National Highway 7 is already narrow, now the flood has washed away mud and soil, along with mud and soil from people moving their houses onto the road, making it very difficult to travel. We are inching each section while waiting for the leveling machine to clear the road. At some points in Tam Quang commune (old Tuong Duong district), we had to wait until 2 hours.
After the journey, while waiting for the road to clear, we crossed the road about 50km at night. However, when they arrived at Tam Thai commune (old Tuong Duong district), there was a complete blockage, and machinery was focusing on scraping the mud. When I asked how long it would take to open the road, the workers were moved to say: "There are still many traffic jams, maybe it will not be open until tomorrow. You guys should go back.
The road is narrow, the line of cars waiting behind is very difficult for us to turn the front of the car to return to the 20km journey to find a house with an explosive power source to charge the battery for the computer, camera, write news, and send to the newspaper.
Human love after the fierce flood
After the flood receded, the maintenance unit of National Highway 7, Joint Stock Company 495 in Nghe An, mobilized dozens of excavators and blood- reflecting machines to level and transport mud to dump elsewhere to clear the road. This work is being carried out all day and night. The route was not opened until nearly 10:30 p.m. on July 25.
From here, hundreds of relief vehicles, thousands of them lined up to give instant noodles, rice, drinking water, clothes, clothes, cash and many other necessities to people in flooded areas near the border.
In My Ly commune, one of the communes most severely damaged by floods, the flood has receded for 3 days, but many Thai people in Xieng Tam village are sitting in fear and not knowing what to do. Because many of them had no more houses to clean, many others had their roofs washed away, walls collapsed, and mud was meter deep inside. They didn't know where to start to clean up.
Ms. Vi Thi Cay An (residing in Xieng Tam village) cried and said that her newly borrowed money from the bank for investment in the house and grocery store had all been swept away by the flood. There is nothing left.
Not only the house and school in this commune were also severely damaged by the flood. Mr. Tran Sy Ha - Principal of My Ly 2 Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities - cried when the forest took him a day and a half to witness the school being heavily damaged by floodwaters, all teaching equipment, assets, records, papers, mud and silt filling the school up to 3 meters high, floodwaters flooded the entire second floor.
In this historic flood, Nghe An province had 4 deaths and 4 injuries, 6,629 houses were damaged. Of which, 377 houses were collapsed, buried, or completely washed away in Nhon Mai, Muong Xen, Tuong Duong, Tam Quang, Con Cuong, Muong Tap, Huu Khuong, and My Ly communes; 1,387 houses were damaged, had their roofs blown off; 4,865 houses were deeply flooded, and their assets were washed away and damaged after the water receded. Floods also damaged 26 schools; 6 medical centers were flooded and damaged.
Leaving the communes of the West of Nghe An when the flood receded, the people, thousands of police officers, soldiers, the army, and mass organizations are making efforts to clear mud, clean up the environment, and overcome the consequences. Along with that, hundreds of trucks carrying relief goods are traveling thousands of times to help and share with people in flooded areas. I believe that any pain or loss will eventually pass, with resilience, suffering, and hard work, the village here will soon revive.
