Horrifying night for people in Ky Son flash flood area

Languagecry heart out in the night

Sitting in front of the portrait of her 4-month-old child swept away by the flood, Ms. Va Y Do, residing in Son Ha village (Ta Ca commune), tears welled up in her eyes. She could only swallow the water, silently blaming herself for not being able to keep her child. Until now, this young Mong mother still cannot believe what happened.fateful nightthat day. Y Do said: She and Mr. Mua Xuan Tinh got married in 2021 and Mua Ngoc Chau is their first child. Due to difficult family circumstances, Mr. Tinh had to go to the South to work for a living, leaving behind his young wife and newborn child in his hometown.

Flash flood epicenter seen from above. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

That night, the floodwaters rose high, and Va Y Do’s house was heavily eroded. On the morning of October 2, the water roared and swept away many houses of other households. “I tried to hold my child and hold him tight, but the water was so strong that it ripped him from my arms. My 5th grade nephew who lived in the same house with me was also swept away, but then he was swept to a tree and survived. As for my child…” – Va Y Do sobbed.

Ms. Ngan Thi Tam (71 years old), residing in Hoa Son village (Ta Ca commune), is originally from Nghia Dan. She followed her husband to settle here more than 40 years ago. Since then, she has never witnessed such a terrifying flash flood. In the early morning of October 2, when she heard the sound of trees and rocks rustling behind her house, and the sound of people shouting and running away, Ms. Tam's son rushed down and pulled his mother up without having time to clean up anything. Only a moment later, looking down from above, she saw only a stream of muddy water rushing down, just like a ferocious dragon rushing down from above.

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu visited Ms. Tam right in her house. Photo: Tien Dong

Horrified and devastated are the words that best describe the feelings of the people and the scene in the areas where the flood passed. It swept away large rocks and tossed many big trees. Even the long-standing residential road leading from Block 1, Muong Xen town to Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune, had turned into a raging riverbed.

Looking at the large rocks thrown by the floodwaters into the yard of the Ky Son District Political Center, even though more than a day has passed, Mr. La Kham On in Block 1, Muong Xen Town is still in shock. Sitting there, staring blankly at his house, which is almost covered in mud up to the roof, and all his belongings buried inside, he could not believe what had happened.

People clean up their houses after the flood. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. On recounted that on the night of October 1, heavy rains began to fall. At 0:30, the water from the small stream poured down more and more, then gradually subsided. After the previous flood, he thought that the flood would not be too big. To be careful, he took his motorbike to the office to park and then went home to close the door and lie down. But after that, he still could not sleep because the rain outside was getting heavier every day.

At 2am, the water started pouring in like a waterfall, and Mr. On's house was right in the middle of the water. He shouted to his family members, then carried his young child and his wife, kicked open the door and ran to higher ground. In just a moment, the house was surrounded by water and the next morning it was submerged in mud.

Mr. La Kham On picks up his computer that was buried in the flood. Photo: Dao Tho

“We didn’t have time to take anything from the house, 3 computers, money, clothes… were all gone. We thought our motorbike was safe at the office, but unexpectedly it was buried in the morning. Now we have nothing, luckily the whole family woke up in time and escaped safely” – Mr. On sadly shared.

The flood came so quickly that Mr. and Mrs. Lo Quang Vinh in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune did not have time to get out and at one point they thought they would die in the flood. At the age of 70, Mr. Vinh said that since he was born and raised here, he had never witnessed such a terrifying flash flood.

People returned home after a day of fleeing the flood, everyone was worried when witnessing the scene of devastation in their homes. Photo: Thanh Cuong

That night, my grandparents were in a stilt house near a stream. It was raining heavily, and the stream water was getting higher and higher. They wanted to run outside, but partly because of the heavy rain and partly because of their old age, the water had begun to surround the house. “The house shook violently from each wave crashing in. My grandparents could only sit and lean on each other, praying for morning so that people could come to help. But the next morning, the water got stronger and stronger, and neighbors shouted to each other, but no one dared to approach. There was a time when I thought my wife and I would die there. After 9am, a group of young men from the village slowly swam over and brought us to safety,” Mr. Lo Quang Vinh recalled in horror.

A car submerged in mud. Photo: Tien Dong

After the water receded into the creek, returning home and looking at the pile of mud inside, Mr. Vinh was frustrated, "I don't know how to clean up this mess anymore, it's all covered in mud. Outside the mud is more than 1 meter high, inside the mud is as high as the rafters. It's terrifying."

Damageimmeasurable harm

The flash flood that occurred from the night of October 1 to noon of October 2 is considered the most terrifying flash flood in the Muong Xen town area in decades.

According to many locals, the Muong Xen town area was previously flooded mainly due to rising river water, but this time, although the rainfall in the area was only about 100mm, it caused a terrible flash flood.

Many large rocks were thrown and lying on the road. Photo: Dao Tho

Many people doing business along Highway 7A, although hearing the shouts, did not have time to evacuate their belongings and property.

Mr. Lo Van Tho, who runs a computer and photocopy shop right in front of the Ky Son District People's Committee gate, has lost all of his machinery and equipment. The estimated damage is up to hundreds of millions of dong.

Mr. Tho said: That night, when he had just closed the shop to go to sleep, it started to rain, just like other times, he heard the sound of water flowing strongly from Huoi Giang stream, thinking it was the same as other times. However, after that, he heard the loudspeaker, he went to National Highway 7A to see what was going on and saw people running away. Just as he regained his composure, the flood water rushed down, he only had time to run to a higher road. In just a moment, all of his business capital was buried in mud.

Many agencies and units were devastated. Photo: Tien Dong

Currently, according to preliminary estimates, this flash flood has caused damage of more than 100 billion VND, not to mention many damaged roads, houses of agencies, units and households. Because the residential road from block 1, Muong Xen town to Hoa Son and Son Ha villages has been turned into a river, going up to grasp the damage and evacuate people is very difficult. The authorities are trying their best to overcome the consequences in order to soon stabilize people's lives.

Authorities provide relief to people affected by floods. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

Mr. Tho Ba Re - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Son district said: Because the flash flood occurred at night and early morning, and on a day off, many people working at agencies and units have returned to their families, because in the past they had to cope with the floods. But this time, with the terrible water pressure, many people were unable to react in time. Many units such as the Ky Son District Political Center; Agricultural Service Center, the District People's Committee's office building, the Fatherland Front and other organizations, the District Party Committee, and the District People's Committee were all blocked by mud and soil, some places were buried under nearly 2 meters of sand and soil. Many cars and motorbikes of officials and employees of agencies parked in the garage were also buried under several meters of sand and soil.

Currently, after the direction of Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu, agencies, units and the government of Ky Son district are concentrating "4 on-site" human resources, along with rescue forces of the Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Border Guard Command, the Provincial Police and many other organizations and individuals are urgently clearing soil and rocks, approaching the isolated area to promptly evacuate and provide relief to isolated people.