On the road after night calls
On the night of October 7 and early morning of October 8, 2025, phones in the reporter group continuously lit up. On social networks, cries for help from Lang Son appeared in droves: houses deeply flooded, elderly people trapped, young children lacking milk, many villages isolated.
The first images sent back from the grassroots level were only flashlight lights flickering, the sound of fast-flowing water and roofs undulating in the sea of water. Yen Binh, Van Nham, Huu Lung, That Khe, Trang Dinh quickly appeared as hotspots.
As soon as they grasped the information, the editorial office leaders directed reporters to closely follow the scene, prioritize approaching the cut-off area, record the situation of people, rescue forces and points in need of urgent support. The request was repeated: "Report quickly and accurately, but must ensure safety.
I checked my working backpack, camera, phone, power bank, raincoat, boots, flashlight, waterproof bag, paper and pen.
The sky was not yet completely bright, we set off.
The closer to the flood area, the harder the road became to travel. Many sections of water overflowed the road surface, mud from the embankment slid down, broken trees blocked the way. Phone signals were intermittent, calls to the editorial office were sometimes received, sometimes lost.
According to statistics, the flood caused about 5,100 households in Lang Son to be affected in terms of housing; thousands of hectares of rice and crops were flooded; many educational institutions were damaged; hundreds of traffic points were landslides and flooded. Total damage is estimated at more than 1,050 billion VND. But at the scene, those numbers appear in each specific face.
A stream of kitchen smoke in the sea of water
Late afternoon of October 8th, we were present in the Yen Binh, Van Nham and Huu Lung areas. Floodwaters have not yet receded. In front of us is the muddy water color stretching across village roads, rice fields, and yards. Electric poles and treetops have become isolated marks. In low-lying areas, many level-4 houses only have tile tops protruding.
Amidst the floodwaters, a thin stream of kitchen smoke rose on the roadside, causing us to stop.
Mr. Hoang Van Khai, 69 years old, in Bai Vang village, Huu Lung commune, sat huddled on the porch of a stilt house covered in mud. Below, the first floor was completely flooded.
Looking at the water flowing through the yard, he softly said: "From childhood until now, I have witnessed many floods, but no flood has been as terrible as this. The water rose too quickly, in just a few hours it flooded the roof, and the buffaloes and cows all drifted away. Luckily, the person was still alive.
Next to it, his wife quietly started the stove to cook rice. The temporary stove was placed on the roadside, next to the duck cages and chickens who luckily survived the flood. Electricity went out, the gas stove broke down, she had to temporarily start a fireplace on the street. While speaking, she took an oil lamp and lit a faint light.
Not far away, Ms. Pham Thi Hang, in Bai Vang village, tried to carry a 20-liter bottle of filtered water and some supplies on the remaining motorbike. She said in sobs: "Two months with three floods, this one is the biggest. We are exhausted. When the water rose, my three children and I had to run to my paternal grandparents' house for temporary shelter, and my husband stayed to look after things. But last night, the water rose too quickly, so we had to abandon everything, as long as there were people, there would be property." In Van Nham commune, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Huy, Tan Nhien village, and young people in the village rode a boat to receive relief goods. He said that in the village, out of 80 houses, 79 were flooded, only one house had a second floor for nearly 60 people to take temporary shelter.
It's all flooded, there's nothing left. All yesterday, only young children were given milk, adults were almost starving because they were busy running from the flood," Mr. Huy said.
In the afternoon of October 9th, receiving information that many households were trapped in caves in Van Nham commune, we found a way to approach mountain area 1. Thanks to a motorboat of the people, the group of reporters followed the muddy brown water, passing through sections of the river flooded with power lines, treetops and jagged rocky outcrops.
After nearly three hours sitting on the boat, we finally reached the cliff. The motorboat could not get close to the cave, so we had to ask people to row along the water's edge. Climbing through the slippery rocks, in front of us were more than ten people, old and young, jostling each other in a damp cave.
The oldest person is Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu, 72 years old, the youngest is only three years old. They have been there for more than 40 hours in the cold, mosquitoes and fear. Mrs. Thu recounted that at about 2 am, she heard the sound of water pouring out in the yard, opened the door and the water was already at her waist. Her son shouted: "Run up the mountain!". In the middle of the night, the whole family could only run headfirst, not having time to bring anything.
In the cave, three families ate raw instant noodles, drank water to survive, each person only dared to take a few sips. Young children were given up first. Adults stayed up all night because of the cold, because of mosquitoes and because of worry...
After-flood sunshine, exposing each letter in the schoolyard
In the days after the flood, when the water started to recede, we returned to Yen Binh commune. The scene in front of us was confined to the two words "desolation".
Following the direction of the commune leaders, we went to Hoa Binh Kindergarten, one of the heavily damaged schools. The flood has passed, but its traces are still imprinted on each wall, each piece of paper, and each item of children's belongings.
The entire first floor area and rows of level 4 houses were submerged in water for nearly two days, causing facilities, teaching equipment, and semi-boarding supplies to be almost completely damaged. The kitchen area, which used to be on fire every noon, now only has refrigerators, gas stoves, and water purifiers stained with mud.
Estimated damage of hundreds of millions of dong, but the power outage means it is not possible to check any equipment," Ms. Tran Thi Nhung, Principal of Hoa Binh Kindergarten, choked up.
Four classrooms on the first floor were deeply flooded. Tables, chairs, books, and children's toys were swept away or deformed. On the walls, water stains were still imprinted to the chest of adults. Two pressed wooden record cabinets soaked in water, peeling off, and student papers were heavily damaged.
After the water receded, the schoolyard turned into a temporary drying yard. Hundreds of records, lesson plans, and monitoring books were spread all over the yard under the scorching sun. Paper wrinkled, stained, and bent by water.
Just drying it like that, but whether it can be used again or not is still unknown, but what can be saved is what is saved," Ms. Nhung sighed.
Hoa Binh Kindergarten has 168 students, once meeting national standards, spacious and clean. After the flood, only patchy walls remained. The school is making efforts to temporarily overcome it to soon welcome children back, although for now it can only organize one class per day due to lack of cooking equipment.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Ma Van Dat - Vice Chairman of Yen Binh Commune People's Committee - said that the flood caused heavy damage to the locality. In which, 3 kindergartens, one secondary school, 2 elementary schools and one primary and secondary school were almost completely damaged. Crops and property were swept away; livestock and poultry died a lot.
Amidst the ruins, the image of people who do not give up still faintly appears. Teachers, parents, and people quietly roll up their sleeves to clear mud, wash tables and chairs, and dry each file, each lesson plan in the sun after the flood.
More than 8 months later, when returning to the areas that were once flood centers, many roads have been cleared, many houses have been repaired or rebuilt. Green fields return after layers of young mud. The stoves are red again in the old house. Young children go to school again, adults continue to go to the fields, go to work, rebuild their lives from what is left.
