People have never experienced such a severe flood.
On the morning of September 10, people in Bao Yen district, Lao Cai province breathed a sigh of relief when the water of the Chay River was receding rapidly, then suddenly received bad news: At the foot of Con Voi mountain - home to 35 households of Tay and Dao ethnic groups - was completely buried by flash floods and landslides.
After traveling more than 20 kilometers to reach the scene, Mr. Hoang Quoc Bao - Secretary of Bao Yen District Party Committee - reminded everyone in the group to separate, in case... someone stayed behind to report the news.
Due to landslides, it took 5 hours for the first group to arrive.
Right at the entrance of Lang Nu village were the bewildered faces of people looking for their relatives, strangers from neighboring villages who heard the news and came to help, their eyes red, watching the water and mud flow helplessly.
According to a local official, above Lang Nu village is the Con Voi mountain range. In the early morning of September 10, a large "water bag" accumulated on the mountain. After about 2 loud explosions, the "water bag" broke, water and mud poured down on 37 households with 158 people living there.
A large area with hundreds of people living here for 5-6 generations, has now become desolate because of the mud buried after the flash flood.
"Seeing the giant mud like clouds, rolling from the 100m high mountain peak and rushing down, I have never witnessed anything so terrifying," Mr. Hoang Ngoc Diep, Head of Lang Nu village, described the horrifying scene.
The people, for many generations living here, have never faced such a fierce flood. Rescue forces were quickly present to help.
Right at the entrance of Lang Nu village were the bewildered faces of people looking for their relatives, strangers from neighboring villages who heard the news and came to help, their eyes red, watching the water and mud flow helplessly.
With 5 relatives affected by the flash flood, Mr. Hoang Van Thoi sat with a bewildered face, looking into the distance. This flash flood took away the people he loved the most: his old mother, wife and 3 young children.
This breadwinner, who had gone through many hardships, could not hold back his tears as this loss was irreplaceable. Sitting next to the bodies of his three children, Mr. Thoi could not speak.
Hold on to hope
Holding in his hand a book recording the names of the missing victims, Mr. Hoang Van Diep - Head of Lang Nu village - said with tears in his eyes: "Only those who were working far away or not at home at that time were lucky to escape. The damage at this time is immeasurable."
After calling the numbers of those who are still "missing" but could not contact them, Mr. Diep said: "I just hope it's because the phone signal is lost." Holding on to a little hope, many relatives of the missing people are still waiting anxiously for news of their loved ones.
By 11:00 a.m. on September 11, authorities had rescued 46 people safely, 17 people were being treated at the hospital, 25 bodies were found, and 70 people were still missing.
Currently, there are many forces participating in the search with about 200 officers and soldiers of Military Region 2 and 200 people from local forces. First, it is necessary to complete an accurate map to focus the search.
“The search could take a week or longer,” said Lao Cai Provincial Party Secretary Dang Xuan Phong, Commander-in-Chief of the search and rescue effort for the missing victims of the flash flood in Lang Nu village.
Regarding the solution of using sniffer dogs to search for victims, Mr. Dang Xuan Phong is concerned that if the victim is buried 5-7m deep, sniffer dogs will have difficulty finding them.
Colonel Nguyen Duc Cuong - Political Commissar of Lao Cai Provincial Military Command - also said that the important task now is to search and rescue, and to propagate people to evacuate from locations at risk of further landslides. The scene is very complicated, with more than 1 million cubic meters of mud, and there are many options, including manual searching and using water to flush.
The weather is complicated with rain, the risk of landslides still exists, the province is re-evaluating and surveying the geology to ensure the safety of the search force...
Millions of arms turn to compatriots affected by storm number 3
Storm No. 3 (Storm Yagi) caused severe damage and impacts in many provinces in the Northern region.
"A piece of food when hungry is worth a whole package when full", with the spirit of mutual love that has always been a beautiful image of the Vietnamese people, the Golden Heart Charitable Social Fund calls on philanthropists at home and abroad to join hands to share with people affected by the storm and post-storm circulation.... to soon stabilize their lives.
The Golden Heart Social Charity Fund would like to sincerely thank the precious affection of agencies, businesses, and philanthropists at home and abroad.
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