These days, Mr. Duong Xuan Phong, Ba Xuyen ward (formerly Ba Xuyen commune, Song Cong city) is busy cleaning up and disinfecting the chicken cage after the big flood at the end of June.
Looking at the barn, his voice rings down every time he mentioned the unprecedented flood that swept away thousands of chickens and packed up all the care, all of which were lost overnight.
"At around 3am, it rained heavily, water started to rise rapidly from the field behind the house and then flooded straight into the barn. The chickens in the barn roared, the water rose up to their bellies in less than an hour, sweeping them all away," said Mr. Phong.
Despite the help of people around, the water rose too quickly, causing the whole barn to be isolated, only a small part was recovered, the rest was submerged by floodwaters.
According to Mr. Phong, the herd of more than 4,000 chickens has been raised for nearly 3 months, each weighing about 2.5kg, preparing to be sold. The total damage is estimated at nearly 800 million VND.
The next morning, the whole row of barns was left with mud and chicken. All varieties, cams, and medicines invested since the beginning of the crop have been lost.
After the flood, seeing the devastation before his eyes, Mr. Phong once thought about stopping, because all the care he had given for the past three months now was gone.
Thanks to the encouragement of relatives and local authorities, he decided to clean up, disinfect the barn, and treat the ground to start preparing for the herd relocation plan.
"What I hope for most right now is to have more resources and support capital so that my family can soon recover production and maintain a sustainable livelihood after the severe flood," said Mr. Phong.
Not far away, Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, Ba Xuyen ward (formerly Ba Xuyen commune, Song Cong city) is also collecting the cucumber rope that collapsed after the flood.
A garden of more than 1,000m2 has just been submerged in floodwaters, and all the watermelons in the harvest season have been damaged.
At his feet, the fruit fell everywhere, many of the fruits were still green and shiny on the outside, but inside they were mushy and cracked.
Young mud sticks tightly to each leaf, the trunk lying around. Plucking each tree root out of the thick soil, Mr. Binh sadly said: "I have been giving up capital and effort for several months, now I consider it a given up".
Not only the melon family, the grape garden he grows nearby will also be cut down and sold in a few days, and will also be submerged in floodwaters that cannot be saved. Estimated damage is about 100 million VND.
According to Mr. Binh, this flood caused greater damage than the flood caused by Typhoon Yagi in September 2024. After the water receded, he cleared drainage ditches, cleared mud, and cut down damaged trees to retain the land that could be replanted.
"I am considering buying new varieties and borrowing money to invest in the next crop. The biggest wish at this time is to have more support for seeds, fertilizers and instructions on land improvement after flooding so that we can start over soon, maintaining a livelihood for the family", Mr. Binh added.
Previously, Mr. Duong Thuy Thanh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ba Xuyen Ward (formerly Ba Xuyen Commune) said that the locality had established a working group to go to each household to inspect and inventory damage to livestock and crops.
"We have instructed people on disinfection, disinfection of barns and requested specialized agencies to provide disinfectants for support.
The damage statistics have also been completed and sent to superiors as a basis for considering support according to regulations," the local leader added.
The flood that occurred last June forced 277 households in the old Thai Nguyen province to evacuate due to the impact of flooding.
Regarding damage, about 651 hectares of crops were flooded, more than 177,000 livestock and poultry died, and 77 tons of livestock feed were damaged.
The area of aquaculture affected is 18.9 hectares. Many traffic works were also damaged, with total estimated damage of about 54 billion VND.
