"The flood water recedes and the road is clear, I will take you home, mother."

Clean up, wait for the flood to recede

Until today, October 30, Mr. Truong Tan Binh (Loc Thuy commune, Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province)'s heart is still in turmoil. He stayed up all night to watch over his mother, the incense stick almost burned out, he lit a new one, and took the opportunity to watch the water level.

The muddy floodwaters of the past few days have left mud stains on the old walls of the house. For the past two days, the floodwaters have been rising to the roof, just 1 meter away from the attic, where his mother's coffin is kept and his family is temporarily staying.

Every now and then, a few villagers whose boats passed by the house and knew about the situation would stop by to ask about the loss.

“Currently, every house in this area is flooded, there is no means of transportation, the commune government called to inquire and grasp the situation. Some relatives came to visit her. I also understand the situation at this time, just like that is also very precious” - Mr. Binh confided.

Seeing that the water had receded to about 60cm, the whole family went down from the attic to clean up the mud. Mr. Binh calculated that if the water continued to recede as it was now, they could bring his mother's coffin downstairs and bury her according to local customs. It was expected that one day later, when the water outside receded, they would take his mother to be buried.

The burial site is about 16km from his house, and that road is still flooded. While cleaning up, he also took the opportunity to rearrange everything necessary at home to prepare for his mother's funeral. It is not clear how much of the road is still flooded, so the family is still waiting for the water to recede so that someone can go ahead and survey. He also contacted the funeral service team to be ready with the means to take his mother away when the road is clear.

Prepare for the coming rains

Mr. Truong Tan Binh said in a low voice: “The family is now trying to do everything quickly. As soon as the water recedes and the road is clear, we will take our mother to the burial site. Otherwise, we are also worried that it will continue to rain soon. If the rain is heavy, there will be another flood. We feel sorry for our mother, but in this situation, we have to accept it.”

Regarding Mr. Binh's family, Mr. Duong Cong Nhan - Chairman of Loc Thuy Commune People's Committee added: "The family has informed the commune and had specific discussions. As soon as the water recedes, the coffin will be lowered to perform the ceremonies and then take her away."

Currently, the water in Loc Thuy commune has receded about 1 meter, and there are about 80 households still in their homes. Families have also quickly started cleaning up following the motto "clean up as soon as the water recedes".

“We have informed and informed the people and agencies to take advantage of the opportunity to clean up mud at their workplaces and residences, but have not yet taken down their belongings. There is currently a forecast of heavy rains coming from November 4, so we cannot be complacent,” said Mr. Nhan.