Flood escape

Many people who do not understand still say: How can there be floods in mountainous villages? There are. When there is heavy rain, there are floods, when there is floods, there are floods. Floods occur because the water from upstream cannot drain quickly, and the drainage system is either non-existent or not suitable, so many villages are submerged in mud.

The most dangerous are flash floods. Just a few days ago, there were only a few not-so-heavy rains, but Muong Xen town (Ky Son) was flooded with mud, rocks, and soil. People even used their phones to record the scene of muddy water flowing from behind their houses to the front. It was truly terrifying. The most worrying thing is that floods often come at night. At that time, everyone is sleeping, and if you are not careful, the elderly, children, and women will be swept away by the flood.

Floodwaters from the embankment caused landslides and flooded into houses along National Highway 7A in Muong Xen town, after heavy rain on the night of August 15. Photo: Lu Phu

In mountainous areas, our people oftenbuild a house under the mountain roof, at the foot of the mountain. Many houses are built against the mountainside. This is very dangerous in case of floods. However, there are urgent projects to relocate residential areas severely affected by weather conditions and climate change, but so far there has been no progress. People say to each other: We will move to a new place, but the two words "come here" have been said for a long time.

Remember againflood experiencea few years ago. At that time, it rained for many days, the rivers and streams were full of water. One day, someone announced: The Ban Ve Hydropower Dam has collapsed! Needless to say, the people downstream of the Lam River were terrified. Fathers and sons, grandfathers and grandchildren had no time to think of anything but calling each other to run up the hills to avoid the flood. At the hospitals, there were patients who were lying groaning on their beds who also jumped up, carrying their IV lines and needles, crawling up the hills to find a place to avoid the flood. The rumor made everyone laugh and cry. But through this event, it showed a reality: That is, the people of the mountains understand very well the dangerous nature of floods, of the hydropower water columns hanging over the upper stream.

In August 2018, seeing the water rising too quickly and hearing false rumors that the Ban Ve hydroelectric dam had broken, hundreds of people in Xa Luong commune panicked and rushed to the high mountains to avoid the flood. Photo: Dao Tho

Now the flood season has come again. People tell each other to keep valuable things carefully. Before going to bed, remember to look ahead and behind to visualize. When hearing a rumbling sound, pick up children, help the elderly push open the door and run. Run to the high place you have planned in advance.