Focusing efforts to help people be safe in floodwaters
In recent days, continuous heavy rain has caused water to rise in many rivers in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ninh Binh. Water flooded into residential areas and fields, cutting off traffic, causing landslides and forcing thousands of people to leave their homes to safe places.
In Thanh Hoa, statistics show that floods caused 8,419 households to be flooded. Localities have evacuated 1,016 households with 3,892 people. About 6,700ha of agricultural production land and 1,134ha of aquaculture are affected.
According to the disaster prevention and control plan, Thanh Hoa armed forces deployed 15,206 officers and soldiers of the standing army and militia; prepared 20 ships, boats, 80 sets of VSN-1500, 50 rafts, 10 generators and many rescue vehicles.
In Ha Long, Yen Nhan, Thanh Ky, Thuong Ninh, Tho Ngoc, Hien Kiet and many areas at risk of deep flooding and landslides, forces maintained checkpoints, warned and restricted people from entering dangerous areas. In Hoang Son, Hoang Giang, Tuong Linh, Cong Chinh communes, officers and soldiers supported households to move people, property and livestock to high places.
Mr. Pham Van Mich (66 years old, residing in Van Thien village, Nong Cong commune) said that when the water rose and when the water started to recede, his family and people received very dedicated and responsible support from functional forces, especially the police and soldiers.
One of the notable incidents occurred at noon on September 17 on canal T2, Tong Son commune. About 20m of canal bank in Ru Khep area, Do My village was broken when the Hoat River water rose.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dung - Secretary of Tong Son commune - said that local forces used soil, sand, sacks, tarpaulins and mechanical vehicles to reinforce key positions, limiting water flow to continue to expand the affected area.
On the same evening, in Ba Dinh commune, water from upstream caused an incident at the Nga Thien Pumping Station spillway (Dong Bach A area, Tu Thuc village). Police, military, local officials and people transported soil, packed bags, and reinforced key points overnight. By the morning of September 18, the water flow was basically controlled, limiting flooding into residential areas.
In Nghe An, heavy rain caused many mountainous residential areas to be cut off. In Tam Thai commune alone, the water in streams and creeks rose, isolating 631 households with more than 3,000 people. Functional forces are stretching themselves to ensure safety and support people to overcome the consequences when the water recedes.
In Ninh Binh, as of the morning of September 18, floods still affected a wide area. According to a quick report from the Office of the Provincial Civil Defense Command, 5,836 houses outside the dike were flooded. Gia Tuong commune has 1,245 affected households, Thanh Lam 1,065 households, Phu Van ward 700 households, Phu Son 464 households, Gia Vien 450 households and Thanh Son 347 households.
Wherever the water recedes, urgently overcome it.
In parallel with the task of ensuring safety in places where water is still high, localities are starting to focus on overcoming the consequences in areas where water has receded.
On September 18, Mr. Phan Quoc Nam's family in Yen Thanh commune, Nghe An province mobilized maximum manpower, hired more workers to re-stretch nylon and repair the cover net for 10 sao of chrysanthemums newly planted for more than a week. For crop areas that are still recoverable, people immediately implemented remediation to limit damage.
Mr. Phan Quoc Nam said that firstly, it is necessary to dredge the ditches to dry quickly. Secondly, it is necessary to spray pesticides to prevent plants from rotting. There must be fertilizer or pesticides sprayed in, stimulating roots to grow for plants to develop. Like Mr. Nam, farmers have proactively gone to the fields to clear the flow and drain water for plants as soon as the flood recedes.
After the rain, the aquaculture pond of Mr. Nguyen Ba Han's family in Giai Lac commune, Nghe An was eroded and the tarpaulin peeled off. After the rain stopped, his family went out to check, repair the tarpaulin, dredge the accreted soil and rocks, and clean the pond to prepare for a new farming season.
In Thanh Hoa, functional units are making efforts to handle landslide points and traffic jams so that people can travel conveniently. Road management units have erected barriers, placed warning signs, and mobilized machinery to handle soil and rocks. Some sections on National Highway 48, 48E and provincial roads have temporarily stopped traffic to ensure safety.
Heavy rain coincided with the time when many areas of summer-autumn rice entered the harvest season, causing rice to be flooded and overturned. Police, military and militia in the communes of Nga Son, Hoang Tien, Dien Quang, Hoa Quy, Nhu Xuan and many localities in Thanh Hoa took advantage of when the rain subsided to go down to the fields to support people to plant rice, harvest and transport agricultural products out of areas at risk of continued flooding. Ms. Nguyen Thi Na's family far from Nga Son has 3.5 sao of flooded rice. She was helped by police officers and soldiers who did not mind difficulties to go down to the fields to harvest and save rice. "Luckily, if it weren't for the police officers, my family would have lost several sao of rice completely," Ms. Na said emotionally.
In Ninh Binh, damage to agricultural production continues to increase according to updated data. By the morning of September 18, the whole province recorded 11,343 hectares of rice affected, of which 231 hectares were flooded white, 437 hectares were flooded faintly and 10,675 hectares were flooded from 2/3 to 3/4 of the trunk.
The irrigation system mobilizes 675 fixed electric pumps, operates 160 head drainage culverts, one lake culvert and 25 spillways to drain water for residential areas, fields, urban areas and industrial parks.
In Phu Van ward, forces are filling sandbags, reinforcing the overflow line about 200m long on Ly Thuong Kiet street, Manh Tien residential group. In Phu Son commune, the government installed warning signs, prohibiting cars from passing through the Hong Thang village road section due to water eroding the sewer system under the road surface.
Tourism activities at some points in Ninh Binh have to be adjusted due to floodwaters. Trang An temporarily stops welcoming visitors from September 17; Tam Coc - Bich Dong shortens boat routes, some caves in Thung Nham stop serving.
After the water recedes, localities focus on treating mud, garbage, environmental sanitation, checking water sources and preventing disease risks. Thanh Hoa and Nghe An are also urgently clearing soil and rocks, clearing the flow, and reviewing damaged works.
At the end of September 18, the situation in 3 provinces has not returned to normal. Water has receded in some areas, but the water level in many rivers is still maintained at a high level.
