Flood swept away life's savings
Images of the two-story house of Mr. Ly Van Quang (40 years old, Giao Chan village, Khong Lao commune, Lai Chau province) being swept away by floodwaters on July 8, making many people feel sorry.
After many days of heavy rain, the stream water rose, the flow changed direction, eroded the banks at a rapid rate, causing the entire project to collapse and then disappear in just a short time.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, a representative of the local government said that the house was built a few dozen meters from the stream, surrounded by rice fields and was previously assessed as quite safe.
However, the diễn biến of rain and floods exceeding the usual rules has caused the entire building block of about 160m2, worth more than 1 billion VND along with the garden and livestock barn to be completely swept away.
In Lai Chau, by the morning of July 10, the rain had temporarily stopped, but the risk of landslides was still present in many areas. Functional forces continued to be on duty, closely monitoring high-risk points to promptly handle and ensure safety for people.
Not only Lai Chau, Cao Bang is also experiencing a rainy season with many unusual developments.
Data from Cao Bang Provincial Statistics shows that in just the first 6 months of the year, natural disasters caused damage to the locality of about 109.66 billion VND. The heavy rain at the end of June alone caused flooding and landslides in many localities, estimated damage of more than 16 billion VND.
Having lived in Thuc Phan ward, Cao Bang province for more than 30 years, Mr. Nguyen Hong Duong said that in recent years floods on the Bang and Hien rivers have appeared with a higher frequency, and the water level has risen very quickly.
If previously the central area rarely flooded deeply, then in the past 2 years, after only nearly an hour of rising river water, many streets have been submerged in water.
According to local people, although the riverbed was first dredged in early June 2026, the flood drainage capacity has not yet been met before heavy rains.
Proactively responding to unpredictable natural disasters
Dien Bien is also one of the localities heavily affected by the prolonged heavy rain from the beginning of July.
Many communes such as Tua Thang, Sin Chai, Sinh Phinh, Sang Nhe, Nam Nen, Na Hy, Na Sang, Quai To and Tuan Giao experienced floods, landslides, causing damage to houses, infrastructure works and cutting off traffic.
Heavy rain damaged many locations on National Highway 6, National Highway 12 and many inter-communal roads. Soil and rocks spilled onto the road surface, landslides caused many difficulties for people's travel, and at the same time increased the risk of unsafety during the rainy season.
Faced with the complicated developments of the weather, Dien Bien Provincial People's Committee requested localities to closely monitor forecast bulletins and flood warnings; review areas at risk of flash floods and landslides to proactively evacuate people when necessary.
Functional forces are deployed at culverts, spillways, deeply flooded roads or roads at risk of landslides, resolutely not allowing people and vehicles to circulate when conditions do not ensure safety.
In addition, construction sites, mineral exploitation areas, irrigation reservoirs, and hydropower plants are also required to strengthen inspections to minimize the risk of incidents in prolonged heavy rain conditions.
In Lao Cai, recent heavy rains continue to cause damage to production and infrastructure. Thac Ba commune alone has nearly 80ha of rice and crops flooded; many roads are locally flooded. Soil and rocks from the positive slope slid down to the residential area in Hong Van village, directly affecting two households, burying many auxiliary works and property.
In Muong Khuong commune, Na Day and Na Bu - Ham Rong areas recorded high water levels, soil and rocks overflowing the road surface causing traffic jams. Local authorities have mobilized police, military, militia and mass organizations to support people to relocate property and overcome the consequences.
Statistics show that Lao Cai province has more than 118ha of crops affected, 19 houses affected by flooding and landslides, and many traffic routes damaged with total estimated damage of about 2.2 billion VND.
To minimize damage, provincial leaders requested localities to strictly implement the "four on-the-spot" motto, prepare sufficient forces, vehicles, materials, and necessities to serve rescue and relief work, and urgently compile damage statistics to soon support people to stabilize their lives.
Reality from northern mountainous localities shows that rain and floods no longer occur according to familiar rules but appear with greater intensity, wider scope and more unpredictable levels.
This requires not only the proactiveness of authorities at all levels in forecasting, warning and response, but also fundamental solutions on population planning, river and stream corridor management, infrastructure reinforcement and improving adaptability to increasing extreme weather phenomena.
