Proactively responding to floods
Returning to the flood center of Cam Due commune, Ha Tinh province after more than a month of major floods, I was really surprised that before that, people's gardens were deeply flooded from 1m - 2m, now they are green with vegetable beds.
Mr. Tran Van Than (85 years old, residing in Thong Nhat village, Cam Due commune) living next to the Ngan Mo River - shared that in the recent flood, water flooded his house about 20cm, and outside the garden was flooded more than 1m deep.
That day, my husband and I had to evacuate to my daughter's house for 3 days. My daughter's house was in a higher area, so it was not flooded. After the water receded from the house, my husband and I returned to clean up and wipe the mud," Mr. Than recounted.
According to Mr. Than, living near the Ngan Mo River, which is also the downstream area of Ke Go Lake, his family as well as many local people are used to proactively responding to natural disasters and floods.
In 1998, when I was hungry and short of clothes, I saved nearly 2 million VND to build a steel boat. Thanks to that boat, every year when floods occur, I proactively move and evacuate when necessary" - Mr. Than shared.
A few hundred meters from Mr. Than's house, Mrs. Duong Thi Hoa's family (69 years old) was deeper flooded in the recent flood when water flooded into the house nearly 50cm.
That day, my family picked up the rice and stored it high, placed the refrigerator and washing machine high, so the property was not damaged. Only the deeply flooded water receded slowly, so all the crops were damaged" - Ms. Hoa shared.
Living in a low-lying area, near the river, for many years, Mrs. Hoa's family has built a wooden mezzanine in the house so that every time there is a big flood, if they cannot evacuate in time, they will climb up there to take shelter.
Ms. Hoa recounted that in the flood at the beginning of November, her husband was the head of the grassroots security team of Thong Nhat village, so he was worried about helping to evacuate people. While she was home alone. When the water flooded into the house, she was taken by boat by the Ha Tinh Man Coi volunteer team to evacuate. When the floodwaters receded, she returned home to clean and sanitize the house.
Now in the village and hamlet, there are also many households building solid high-rise houses, so proactive work and response when natural disasters and floods occur is also quite convenient. Households whose houses are not guaranteed and easily flooded are evacuated to live in high-rise, solid neighbors' houses. In natural disasters, people help, share, and support each other a lot" - Mr. Tran Van Huu (71 years old, Ms. Hoa's husband) shared.
Also according to Mr. Huu, Thong Nhat village also has a community cultural house combined with a spacious 2-story flood shelter, so every time there is rain and flood, many people have been evacuated there by the government, both ensuring safety and convenience in moving.
Revival after floods
Mr. Tran Van Than (85 years old, residing in Thong Nhat village) recounted that after the recent flood, the water was soaked for more than a week before receding, so the entire vegetable garden of his family and many other fruit trees died from waterlogging. After the flood, his wife and he dug up the soil and replanted the new vegetable crop. Up to now, many vegetable beds are already green and are about to be eaten.
There are still more than a few months left until Tet. At that time, my family's vegetable garden was already very green. The old couple didn't eat much either, but they made it there to occasionally bring their children and grandchildren to pick for them to use" - Mr. Than shared.
Although his health was not good due to being sick, after the flood, Mr. Tran Van Huu - Head of the Thong Nhat village grassroots security team and his elderly wife dug up the soil, built a trellis to plant gourds, melons and vegetables. In addition, Mr. Huu also cultivated 3 sao of rice fields to ensure self-sufficiency and food supply, avoiding spending money to buy good and bad things.
I hold the position of Head of the Grassroots Security Team cum village secretary, so if people have any joys or sorrows, I have to participate. Therefore, I am also having to work hard, increase production to earn extra income, have money in and out to spend to ensure maintaining village affection, having fun and sadness together" - Mr. Huu confided.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nam - Chairman of Cam Due Commune People's Committee - said that the flood that occurred in early November 2025, causing nearly 3,000 houses in Cam Due commune to be flooded, has greatly affected people's lives.
Thanks to doing a good job of prevention and control with the "4 on-the-spot" motto, there are no deaths due to rain and floods in our commune, and in terms of property, people are basically proactive in erecting and elevating, so there are no major damages. Currently, people have overcome and stabilized their lives again by replanting vegetable gardens and raising more poultry to serve their lives. People have also made land to be ready to sow the 2026 Spring rice crop" - Mr. Nam shared.
Mr. Nam added that recently, during the floods, some organizations and individuals volunteered to bring boats and canoes to participate in the evacuation of people. At the same time, many charity groups also supported necessities and money to help people in flooded areas of Cam Due commune overcome difficulties. These are very precious and respectable feelings. Along with the fact that lieutenants, local authorities, and mass organizations are closely following the grassroots level, promptly supporting people to evacuate and elevate their belongings, so in natural disasters, people still ensure safety of life and minimize property damage.
Mr. Nam also noted that the people of Cam Due commune for generations have lived in low-lying areas, along the Ngan Mo River and also in the downstream area of Ke Go Lake, so they have been proactive in flood prevention and response. In which, many households equip themselves with boats, have mezzanines in their houses to shelter from floods, in addition, many households have built high-rise houses, so they have conditions to ensure safety in natural disasters.
Mr. Le Ngoc Huan - Director of Ha Tinh Department of Agriculture and Environment - said that during the recent flood, reservoirs in Ha Tinh, including Ke Go reservoir, operated overflow discharge to ensure the correct process. Before discharging, the reservoir management and operation unit fully informed the government and people, so people proactively responded well.
Reality shows that proactive prevention and response work will reduce damage to people and property. That is a lesson for us to continue to seriously implement prevention and control work, proactively evacuate to safe places in case of natural disasters" - Mr. Huan shared.
According to Mr. Le Ngoc Huan, currently the Ha Tinh Department of Agriculture and Environment is advising the Ha Tinh Provincial People's Committee to rebuild the flood map using digitization to better serve flood prevention and response to minimize damage to people and property whenever natural disasters occur.
