On the morning of November 20, volunteers from the Binh Thuan Search and Rescue Team coordinated with Military Region 5 and the Khanh Hoa Provincial Military Command to evacuate dozens of people in Hoa Xuan Commune (Dak Lak Province) from the deeply flooded and isolated area to a safe place.
On the evening of November 19, Mr. Nguyen Van Ha - Volunteer of the rescue team in Phan Thiet (Lam Dong province), mobilized 7 people to join the team, carrying 2 water motorbikes and 1 steam boat, departing from Phan Thiet with the plan to go to the heavily flooded area in the old Phu Yen province, now Dak Lak province to support the locality in rescuing people.
These are all water motorbikes for sea tourism. The volunteers who received the support all have experience driving, good swimming skills and participated in the rescue during the flood in early November in the old Binh Thuan.
At around 9pm the same day, vehicles carrying water motorbikes and rescue volunteers passed the Deo Ca tunnel, arriving in Hoa Xuan commune, Dak Lak province, the road was deeply flooded and could not continue moving. Many residential areas here were also submerged in water.
The team immediately lowered the 2 water motorbikes to coordinate with local forces to approach the dangerous area. However, during the rescue, one water motorbike had its engine overturned, the other was caught in garbage and could not operate.
The group had to pull the vehicle to an unflooded location for repair. By the morning of November 20, both water motorbikes had been repaired.
However, the water motorbikes were close to running low on fuel. While the nearby gas station was flooded and the power cup could not pump fuel, it was difficult to fuel the water motorbike.
"The rain kept going, many houses were flooded up to the roofs, so water motorbikes kept moving to get people to safety. There are many emergency calls, the brothers are trying their best" - Mr. Ha said.
At noon on November 20, despite heavy rain and rapid rising water, the volunteer team from Phan Thiet continued to coordinate with functional forces and local authorities to evacuate the elderly, children and women from isolated areas to ensure the safety of the people.
Many people climbed onto the roofs waiting for rescue forces to come and rescue them. Waterlogs have penetrated into many areas and saved many people standing on the roofs.
