Storm No. 13 (Kalmaegi) made landfall in Gia Lai province on the night of November 6, causing heavy damage in many coastal localities. The whole province had 2 deaths and 8 injuries; more than 71,000 houses collapsed, damaged or flooded, of which more than 1,000 houses were completely damaged; nearly 500 schools and 11 medical facilities were damaged, many traffic and irrigation works were eroded.
Agricultural, forestry and fishery production was also severely damaged. More than 2,000 hectares of rice and nearly 15,000 hectares of crops were damaged; more than 30,000 hectares of crops were affected; 386 boats were damaged, of which 148 were completely damaged; more than 500 hectares of aquaculture and 590 cages were swept away... Total damage was about 5,900 billion VND.
At De Gi lagoon, the storm passed, leaving a scene of devastation. 37 fishing boats sank, ran aground, and were severely damaged. Fishermen's houses, wharves, and fishing gear were swept away. Most fishing vessels have not purchased insurance, so fishermen have to bear the losses themselves.
Fisherman Tran Van Tam (residing in Chanh Loi village, De Gi commune), owner of boat BD93766TS, said that after a night of sweeping storms, his fishing boat capsized, causing damage of more than 95%, estimated at about 3 billion VND.
"The boat is the source of life for 6 families, now empty-handed. I am borrowing more than 1 billion VND, I just hope to get a preferential loan to repair the ship and return to sea soon," said Mr. Tam.
Fisherman Khong Trong Hieu (residing in An Quang Dong village, De Gi commune) has just spent 40 million VND to salvage the sunken boat. "The boat was severely damaged, all the fishing gear were drifting. The sea profession has been losing money continuously for the past few years, now with more storms, it is really exhausted. The money for repairing the ship and salvaging the axis is too large, but now there is nothing left in hand," Mr. Hieu said sadly.
According to Cat Khanh Border Guard Station (located at De Gi estuary), storm No. 13 caused heavy damage to fishermen in this area. Preliminary statistics show that 7 fishing boats sank, 20 were damaged and 10 were stranded. In the days after the storm, the authorities are coordinating to support the fishermen in salvaging and repairing sunken and damaged vehicles.
"The damage is large, the number of sunken and damaged ships is large, so the repair is very difficult. The unit is surveying to propose a support plan and at the same time instruct fishermen to work with shipping enterprises to hire salvage vehicles to protect their property," said a representative of Cat Khanh Border Guard Station.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghia - Head of the Department of Fisheries of Gia Lai province - said that the industry is coordinating with the locality to review, guide fishermen to work with the insurance unit and synthesize recommendations to report to the Provincial People's Committee, propose the Central Government to have new support policies to help fishermen soon stabilize production.
