On the afternoon of October 8, heavy rain occurred in the area bordering Ninh Gia commune (Duc Trong district) and Tam Bo commune (Di Linh district) of Lam Dong province.
The rain lasted for more than 2 hours, causing localized flooding on Highway 20 and many houses.
Recorded at 5:30 p.m. the same day, on National Highway 20, the section between Ninh Gia commune (Duc Trong district) and Tam Bo commune (Di Linh district) was flooded from 0.2 - 0.3 meters deep and hundreds of meters long.
Flooded roads made it difficult for vehicles to travel through this area, with traffic being locally congested for more than 30 minutes.
Immediately after the incident, police were present to regulate and direct traffic to ensure safety for people and vehicles.
However, it is worth mentioning that heavy rain caused water from many upstream branches of Do Le stream to flow in. At least 4 households in Hiep Hoa village, Ninh Gia commune (Duc Trong district), adjacent to Tam Bo commune, had their houses flooded with water more than 1 meter deep.
Due to the water rising too quickly and flowing strongly, more than 10 people from the 4 households mentioned above were isolated.
Immediately upon receiving the news, the authorities of Ninh Gia and Tam Bo communes mobilized police forces, militia, youth unions... to quickly arrive and deploy rescue measures.
The forces used life jackets, life buoys, and ropes to move all isolated and stranded people to safety.
Due to the increasing and rapid flow of water from Do Le stream, many properties and belongings of households were swept away and submerged, causing serious damage.
Mr. Nguyen Van Chuc, a resident whose house was flooded, said that the stream water poured in too quickly and was flowing too fast. Therefore, he and the surrounding households were unable to react in time.
“In just about 10 minutes, my house and the households along the stream were flooded with water more than 1 meter deep. All of my family’s assets were submerged. Many assets were swept away by the water,” said Mr. Chuc.
As of 6 p.m. the same day, forces were still making efforts to support households in evacuating property and belongings to a safe place.
Also on October 8, people in Quang Hiep village, Hiep Thanh commune, Duc Trong district (Lam Dong) went to the pine hill to check and discovered a crack on the hillside 80m long. Some places the crack widened by tens of centimeters, the ground showed signs of subsidence from its original position.
The area where the crack occurred is a pine hill managed by the Dai Ninh Protective Forest Management Board. The hill is dozens of meters high and is home to 20 households from Group 24, Quang Hiep Village, Hiep Thanh Commune.
According to local people, due to heavy rain, in recent days, the soil on the hillside in some places has collapsed below.
The leader of Hiep Thanh Commune People's Committee said that the locality has grasped the information about the risk of landslides in the hill area and has notified and requested people to evacuate to a safe place. At the same time, the locality has also reported the incident to the authorities for survey, assessment, and proposal of a plan to handle the hill, ensuring safety.
Currently, 3 locations in Hiep Thanh commune are at risk of landslides and falling trees, affecting households, and local authorities have placed warning signs.
