Night of anxiety in the heart of the Ky Son flood

Evacuating, searching for livestock… at night

After 8pm on October 3, in the heavy rain at night, we walked back from Muong Xen town.Hoa Son village. There was still no electricity, the road leading to the village was dark, the water was still flowing strongly and starting to rise a little higher than during the day. On the way in, I saw some people hurriedly carrying their belongings out.

Teachers staying in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune, move their belongings to escape the flood at night. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Stopping by a row of rented rooms near the road, I saw people rushing to help each other evacuate their belongings. In the last room of the row, Ms. Phan Thi Nhung said that she is from Hung Nguyen district, a teacher at Huoi Tu Secondary School, and has rented a room here for the past few years with her two daughters. Her husband is also a teacher, working in Thanh Chuong district, and immediately after the flood happened, he rushed to Ky Son with his wife and children. Luckily, the rented room was only flooded and not buried in mud. On the evening of October 2, after colleagues helped to move all their belongings, the whole family went to sleep at Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung's house - a teacher at Ta Ca Secondary School in Muong Xen town.

Colleagues help Ms. Phan Thi Nhung - Teacher at Huoi Tu Secondary School move her belongings out of her rented room. Photo: Thanh Cuong

On the afternoon of October 3, after seeing the water recede, thinking it was safe, Ms. Nhung's family moved some essential belongings back to their rented room to sleep, but the water rose again, and the water in the rented room was up to their ankles. So that night, the whole family once again moved their belongings to sleep elsewhere. "This rented house has 12 rooms, mainly teachers and civil servants from the lowlands who come here to work. Since the evening of October 2, everyone has been staying at friends' and colleagues' houses. There are also a few families who returned today like my family, but then had to evacuate again," Ms. Nhung said, her face unable to hide her fatigue.

On the second night since the historic flash flood in the early morning of October 2, with a face still filled with panic, Mr. Kha Van Lom in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune said that, in his half a century of living, he had never seen such a terrifying flood.

Mr. Kha Van Lom carries a flashlight to look for pigs. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Mr. Lom said that his family raised 10 pigs, nearly 40 chickens and more than 10 ducks, but all the chickens, ducks, 4 pigs and all the equipment and machinery in the house were swept away by the flood. The entire lower room of the stilt house was buried in dirt and rocks, the floor of the upper room was also covered in mud, his family brought some remaining clothes and belongings to stay at his brother, Mr. Kha Van Chau's house. He had no place to keep the remaining 6 pigs, so he had to let them roam freely in the village. At night, he had to bring a flashlight to find and herd them back. When we met Mr. Lom, it was after 9 p.m., when he was herding a pig back. "We have only found 1 pig, we still have to look for 5 more, we will go to sleep when we find all of them," Mr. Lom said.

Not only did they lose their homes due to being buried, and had to stay with relatives and friends, many families were also scattered. Like the case of Ms. Ngan Thi Bien's family, a family of 8 people is currently staying in 3 places.

Mrs. Bien said that at 3 a.m. on October 2, she heard the sound of rushing water and rolling rocks. Sensing danger, she quickly woke up her whole family and ran up the hill without taking any belongings with her.

It was raining heavily, standing on the hill looking down to see the water flowing rapidly from Son Ha village, while she was trembling with fear, her husband tried to wade through the flood to get his clothes into the house. While wading, he unfortunately slipped and was swept away by the water. Her son saw this and was startled, jumped into the water to pull his father up, then the two struggled in the raging flood. Luckily, some young men in the village stood on the shore and grabbed the two men by the collars and pulled them up together.

After her husband and children escaped death and the floodwaters receded, Mrs. Bien returned home to find all her belongings had been swept away by the water, and the house was covered in a layer of mud. With no place to stay, she and her husband took refuge at a relative's house, her eldest son and his wife stayed at a neighbor's house, and her youngest son and his wife stayed at an acquaintance's house in the village.

A family in Hoa Son village talks to reporters on the evening of October 3. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The meaningful sticky rice dishes

Also on the evening of October 3, we stopped by a house in Hoa Son village and saw people gathering to wash sticky rice to prepare to cook sticky rice. The homeowner, Mr. Vi Van Hung, said that he and his wife are both teachers. He teaches at Tay Son Boarding Primary School for Ethnic Minorities, and his wife, Ms. Vi Thi Hien, is a teacher at Ta Ca Kindergarten. The flood in the early morning of October 2 swept away the entire garden, fish pond, 1 pig, and 30 chickens. Luckily, the house was safe and not flooded.

Many people in Hoa Son village gathered at Vi Van Hung's house to prepare for charity sticky rice cooking. Photo: Thanh Cuong

“Hoa Son village has 236 households, more than half of which had their houses and properties swept away by the flood. Compared to many other families in the village, my family’s losses are nothing. Therefore, on the morning of October 2, my sister, Vi Thi Hien, who sells agricultural products from Laos, and I brought sticky rice and cellophane noodles from our warehouse to support the people.

For some families that are far away or are busy cleaning and evacuating, my husband and I bring it to their homes. In addition, through the village management board, we mobilize families that have not suffered damage or have suffered minor damage to come to our house to join hands in cooking sticky rice and distributing it to the people. The amount of sticky rice to cook sticky rice, in addition to the family's warehouse, also has contributions from some kind-hearted organizations and individuals," Mr. Hung shared.

Sticky rice is kneaded in advance to be steamed at 4am the next morning. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Standing with her daughter-in-law in Vi Van Hung's yard to receive sticky rice, her face filled with tears, Ms. Ngan Thi Bien said that what happened in the recent flood was "unimaginable". "However, thanks to the help of the village management board, some charity groups and especially families in the village like Mr. Hung and Ms. Hien, the family was able to overcome the initial difficulties in terms of food and accommodation. Our family is very grateful!", Ms. Ngan confided.