Cages devastated after storm
After storm No. 5, the rocks and gravel that have hidden in the waters of Hon La (Phu Trach commune, Quang Tri province) that once contained the hope of making a living of dozens of fishermen are now silently filled with sadness.
The scene was devastated like a "battlefield": broken cage frames, torn nets, fishermen scattered all over the rock, while hundreds of crab, mangrove, lobster, oyster... floated in a belly.
For many years, the Hon La sea area has been a key aquaculture site of Phu Trach, each cage is worth from several hundred million to billions of dong. However, in just one "storm" day of storm No. 5, everything was turned desolate.
Mr. Hoang Ngoc Han (Dong Hung village, Phu Trach commune) sat still on the rocky bank, eyes wide-opened, looking out at the ocean with heavy hearts.
His skin was as if shivered by the storm, his voice was bitter: "I have devoted all my capital to building 30 cages, anchored each bond, but after just one stormy night, all were blown away by strong waves, drifted and destroyed like never before".
His family alone has lost nearly 3 billion VND, and the people in the area are not getting better, some have lost several hundred million, some have lost up to 6 billion VND.
The entire Hon La area, which was once bustling with cages, now has only scraps of wood, torn nets and fish floating white on the water surface. So much effort, so much hope to stick to the sea to make a living, turn time into smoke.
Fishermen lose everything
On the rocky beach along Yen Island, Mr. Bui Anh Tuan (born in 1981, in Phu Trach commune) squatted and watched the pieces of wood broken, torn nets and a few fish left on them.
Mr. Tuan said that he contributed capital with friends to raise 25 rafts, release more than 3,000 catfish, lobsters, snails, ocean oysters... with a total investment of about 2 billion VND.
"The harvest is almost at the harvest time, just waiting to sell, then the storm hit. Now all is just a pile of rotten wood. We are lost, he choked up.
Each raft drifted into the rock mounds in a state of severe damage. Local people said this was one of the most intense waves in many years, the devastation was so great that dozens of households' efforts were dissolved with the waves.
On the same day, some households rushed to hire workers and machinery to scoop up what was left, but the remaining assets were worthless. Faced with the cruelty of natural disasters, fishermen can only sadly watch the fruits of many years of saving get swept away.
Not only cages, many fish ponds and shrimp ponds in coastal communes were also broken and washed away by the storm. Many fishing gear and small boats were also severely damaged, making the lives of coastal residents more difficult.
The government is urgently reviewing and making detailed statistics to submit to the province and ministries and branches for consideration of policies to support fishermen to overcome difficulties and soon restore production.
In Phu Trach commune, border guards, militia and authorities have gone to the scene to support people in clearing the area, and at the same time instructed on safer options for anchoring cages.
According to the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, storm No. 5 caused widespread damage: 5 people injured, 10 houses damaged, more than 2,500 hectares of rice and crops and 1,500 rubber trees broken. In terms of aquaculture, in addition to Hon La, the province also recorded 7.5 hectares of fish ponds flooded and 5 hectares of damaged shrimp ponds
