In the last days of August, in Lung Thom area, Doan Ket village, Tan Doan commune (Lang Son province), although the flood water has basically receded, the scene of devastation is still imprinted on every tree trunk and grasp.
The fields that once covered the young green color of this year's rice are left only with vegetation. The water is still white, with fields as sparkling as ponds and lakes.
The rice trunks were soft and lying on the water, with mud sticking black. On the field, the branches of the yellow straw floated. In higher fields, the rice that had been submerged for a long time had begun to rot, with a strong mu mu mu mu. The newly planted rice fields are also warped, with few roots, and have no chance to revive.
Even the power lines running through the fields are no longer intact. Many bamboo bundles and broken branches were swept away by water and pushed across and became stuck.
Looking at the once lush green fields that have now fallen into a state of disrepair after the flood, Mr. Hoang Van Dung sadly said: "So this crop is a total loss. Last year we lost, this year we lost. I don't know how to handle it yet."
Mr. Dung, who is over 60 years old, said this was the fourth flood of the year. When low, the water rose 2-3 m, flooding the road surface. When high, floodwaters cover the edge of the house. During the flood in September last year, the water rose to the roof, forcing people to evacuate to another high-rise house.
"My family has 3 samples of fields that were lost. Now it is past the harvest and we can't replant. And if we grow them, we can't avoid floods. We just have to wait for the next crop. Any family with children working far away still depends on the deposit to buy rice, but the family only has the elderly and does not know how to manage it," he sighed.
According to research, Lung Sum area has more than 100 households living there. The terrain is low, with no drainage, so this place is often flooded during the rainy season.
About 20 km away, Lung Sooc hamlet (Lung Man village, Bang Mac commune) was also submerged in water.
Mr. Nong Hoan said: "The village has been flooded for nearly a week now, people have to build corrugated iron boats to move. Everything from work to buying necessities has to be done by boat or raft".
According to him, many families were still flooded up to the level of people. The children work far away, and their elderly parents have to stay with relatives. The fields and gardens were also submerged in silver water.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Long Minh Tung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Bang Mac commune - said: "According to preliminary statistics, heavy rain has caused 12 flooded spots and 12 landslides in the commune. There are 62 flooded houses, of which 4 households at high risk have been relocated."
In particular, in Pa Tao and Lung Mat villages, 60 households are being isolated, along with about 45 hectares of rice and crops submerged in water.
Immediately after the flooding occurred, the commune allocated a natural disaster prevention fund to support people with some necessities such as instant noodles, rice, and drinking water. However, that is only the beginning, because the damage to rice and crops is too great, some households have lost everything. The commune government hopes to receive the support of philanthropists so that people can soon stabilize their lives after the flood, Mr. Tung shared.
