Horrible memories
At 7:15 a.m. on September 9, after Typhoon Yagi, heavy rains upstream caused floodwaters to flow into Ha Thanh Dam, in Na Bac Village, Dong Hai Commune, Tien Yen District. The strong water flow eroded the right bank of the dam, threatening the lives of hundreds of households. Faced with this situation, more than 300 people quickly gathered and used sandbags to try to stop the floodwaters.
After 25 minutes of intense fighting against the natural disaster, the floodwaters finally overflowed, causing about 400 households in the villages of Ha Trang Dong, Ha Trang Tay and Na Bac to be submerged.
Mr. Thang Van Thong, Party Secretary of Na Bac village, shared: "Na Bac village has 176 households. When the flood came, the village was completely cut off from the outside. Without anyone telling anyone, more than 300 people in the village quickly tried to use sandbags to prevent water from overflowing the dam. Although we could not stop the fierce water flow, I am very proud of the solidarity of the villagers."
At the same time, Ms. Nong Thi Tram - Head of Ha Trang Tay village - did not fear the danger. When she received news that the flood was coming, she quickly rode her motorbike to each house to inform people to proactively evacuate people and property. On October 2, when Lao Dong Newspaper reporters returned to the flooded area, some households still had to dry their flooded belongings. However, agricultural production activities have begun again.
Faith in overcoming difficulties
According to preliminary statistics from the People's Committee of Dong Hai Commune, the damage after the storm was very serious: more than 900 hectares of forestry land, mainly acacia trees from 2 to 5 years old, were severely damaged. In addition, about 400 households were flooded, losing property, crops, and livestock with total estimated damage of more than 100 billion VND. In addition, 6 houses had their roofs almost completely blown off, but fortunately no houses collapsed completely, causing no human casualties.
One of the families most affected was that of Chiu Van Dung, a Dao ethnic group, born in 1981, in Ha Trang Tay village. After the storm, his house’s roof was completely blown off, and the earthen walls became weaker due to erosion from the storm. Due to poor health after a traffic accident, Dung was unable to repair the house himself. However, neighbors joined hands to help his family rebuild the house without having to hire outside workers.
Mr. Chiu Chan Sinh - 70 years old, Dung's father - shared: "Helping each other build houses is a long-standing custom of our Dao people. When a family needs to build a house, everyone in the village will come to help without taking any money, the homeowner only needs to take care of the materials and meals."
For Dong Hai commune, which was heavily affected by storm No. 3, the consequences of the natural disaster were particularly severe on acacia forests and forestry land. After the storm, rainfall sometimes reached 300mm/h, causing localized flooding in many areas. However, thanks to the consensus and timely recovery of the people, life has gradually stabilized. The eroded dyke and embankment are also being urgently repaired by the Quang Ninh provincial government.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hiep - Vice Chairman of Dong Hai Commune People's Committee - said: "According to Resolution No. 43/2024/NQ-HDND of Quang Ninh province, support for households affected by the storm is being implemented, with the goal of completion before the end of October. Production recovery plans are also being proposed, including recovering affected acacia forest areas and quickly replanting short-term crops to increase economic productivity. Some banks have announced preferential policies on debt forgiveness, debt extension and loan support for households to resume production. We believe that, with the determination and optimism of the people, the economy will soon recover."
