Fleeing the flood

Many people, misunderstanding the situation, say: "How can there be floods in mountain villages?" Well, there are floods. Heavy rains cause floods, and floods cause inundation. Flooding occurs because water from upstream cannot drain quickly enough, and the drainage system is either nonexistent or inadequate, resulting in many villages being submerged in mud.

Even more dangerous are flash floods and landslides. Just a few days ago, there were only a few light rain showers, but the town of Muong Xen (Ky Son district) was flooded with mud, water, and rocks. People even used their phones to film the muddy water rushing from behind their houses to the front. It was truly terrifying. Most worryingly, floods often strike at night. At that time, everyone is asleep, and a moment of carelessness can result in the elderly, children, and women being swept away by the flood.

Floodwaters from the embankment surged down, causing landslides and flooding houses along both sides of National Highway 7A in Muong Xen town, following heavy rain on the night of August 15th. (Photo: Lu Phu)

In mountainous areas, our people oftenBuilding houses under the mountain slope, at the foot of the mountain.Many houses are built right against the mountainside. This is very dangerous if floods occur. Yet, there are urgent projects to relocate communities severely affected by weather conditions and climate change, but nothing has materialized so far. People say to each other: "We'll move to a new place soon," but the words "soon" have been spoken for a long time.

I rememberflood relief experienceA few years ago, it rained heavily for days, and the rivers and streams were overflowing. One day, someone spread the news: "The Ban Ve hydroelectric dam has broken!" Needless to say, the people downstream of the Lam River were terrified. Fathers and sons, grandfathers and grandsons, didn't have time to think about anything other than rushing to the hills and mountains to escape the flood. At the hospitals, even patients groaning in their beds jumped up, still with their IV lines and needles, and crawled up the hills to find a place to escape the flood. The rumor made everyone both laugh and cry. But this event revealed a reality: the people in the mountainous regions understand very well the dangerous nature of floods and the towering hydroelectric dams hanging precariously upstream.

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 fled to higher ground to escape the flood. (Photo: Dao Tho)

Now the flood season has returned. People are telling each other to carefully store away anything valuable. Before going to bed, they remember to look around to get a better idea of ​​what's coming. As soon as they hear a rumbling sound, they grab the children, help the elderly, and rush out the door to run to the high ground they've designated beforehand.