Society

People's support in disaster response

Gia Huy - Hai Thuong • October 8, 2024 11:21

Storms, landslides, flash floods... the natural disaster situation is complicated and unpredictable, always threatening the lives and property of the State and people. In border areas, officers and soldiers of the Border Guard have promptly been present in difficult and complicated areas, working side by side with the authorities to respond to situations; becoming a solid "support" for people in preventing and fighting natural disasters.

"Where there are few soldiers"

The family of Ms. Luong Thi Hoa in Muong Piet village, Thong Thu commune (Que Phong) was one of the households whose house collapsed during the heavy rains caused by storm No. 4 that caused landslides at the end of September. Ms. Hoa said that her husband died early, she has a young child to raise, and she lives in an area where landslides often occur, so every time there are floods, she always feels worried and insecure.

During the recent heavy rains caused by the storm, although the house completely collapsed, Ms. Hoa and her children received support from officers and soldiers of Thong Thu Border Guard Station, local authorities and people to evacuate people and property, before the earth and rocks collapsed and the house collapsed...

Mr. Quang Van Thanh's stilt house in Hiep Phong village, Thong Thu commune was also seriously damaged by dozens of cubic meters of earth and rocks, but fortunately, he had received help from soldiers in green uniforms to move his belongings to a safe location.

Lieutenant Colonel Ho Dang Thao - Deputy Political Commissar of Thong Thu Border Guard Station said that the unit has promoted the spirit of "4 on-the-spot" in responding to natural disasters. As soon as receiving information, the station's forces were present at the affected locations in Muong Piet, Loc, Na Luom, Muong Cat villages... coordinating with local authorities and other forces to help 17 households at risk of landslides to relocate assets, livestock, and dismantle structures to move to a safe place.

In addition to houses, the heavy rain also caused 1,500 m²Fish ponds of households in Thong Thu commune were damaged by over 70%, 4.3 hectares of rice were affected, 0.15 hectares of crops were damaged; about 1.2 hectares of acacia trees were broken; the section of National Highway 48 from Dong Van commune to Thong Thu commune had a landslide on the slope of Cao Ma and Loc villages, causing traffic jams and damage to a number of other structures.

Immediately after the flood, in addition to mobilizing forces to coordinate with local authorities to help people overcome the consequences, Thong Thu Border Guard Station allocated a part of the budget to support some families to overcome the difficult period and soon stabilize their lives.

"Wherever there are difficulties, there are border guards", that is the recognition of the Party committees, authorities and people of border areas about the "people-oriented" spirit of the green-uniformed military force in responding to natural disasters.

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The timely support and accompaniment of the Border Guard has helped local authorities and people in villages and hamlets feel more confident when implementing the "4 on-the-spot" motto to respond to natural disasters and minimize damage...

Mr. Luong Ngoc Huan - Chairman of Thong Thu Commune People's Committee

Stationed in a key area where natural disasters often threaten, Mon Son Border Guard Station, Mon Son Commune, Con Cuong District always closely follows weather developments to promptly coordinate with the authorities and people to proactively respond. Like the heavy rain caused by storm No. 4, upstream water flowing in caused the Giang River to rise, flooding many households.

In some locations such as Khe Moi spillway bridge in Met village, Luc Da commune, the water level is about 1 meter from the bridge surface; in the areas of Thai Son 2, Nam Son, Mon Son commune, many households are flooded. Mon Son Border Guard Station has sent forces to the area to coordinate with local authorities and people to help flooded households to lift jacks and move assets and household items to a safe place.

In Nam Giai Commune (Que Phong) - where flash floods, landslides often occur unexpectedly, causing serious damage to people and property. In particular, after the terrible flash flood that occurred in 2007, which took the lives of 13 people in Puc and Meo villages and buried many houses and schools... natural disasters, storms and floods have become a nightmare for the people.

As the unit assigned to manage two areas, Nam Giai commune and Hanh Dich commune, along with propaganda work, raising people's awareness in preventing and responding to natural disasters, Hanh Dich Border Guard Station is always present in a timely manner, standing side by side with the government and people to respond to situations...

On September 29, when the locality discovered a large crack, 40-50 cm long, in the Pu Meo mountain area of ​​Puc village, Nam Giai commune, directly affecting 4 households at the foot of the mountain, Hanh Dich Border Guard Station sent officers and soldiers to coordinate with the authorities and other forces to promptly evacuate households within the landslide area to a safe place.

In the border commune of Nhon Mai (Tuong Duong), the Border Guard is also the mainstay of the government and people in responding to natural disasters, especially landslides.

Typically, on October 2, heavy rain caused landslides in Xa Mat village, affecting 3 households, of which Mr. Hung Van Man's household was the most severely affected, with large cracks and fractures in the ground. Immediately, Nhon Mai Border Guard Station coordinated with the locality and people to support Mr. Man's family and other households to dismantle their properties and move to another place to avoid damage.

Not only flooding the overflow points, heavy rain also caused landslides on major traffic routes, causing traffic jams; to ensure the safety of people and vehicles, border guards stationed in the area sent forces to coordinate with local authorities to put up warning signs and assigned people to be on duty to prevent people from passing through to ensure safety.

Captain Duong Ngoc Manh Tien - Deputy Political Commissar of Muong Ai Border Guard Station said: Route 543D from Muong Xen town to Muong Tip and Muong Ai communes (Ky Son), especially at points in Sa Vang village, Ta Ca commune, Xop Kham village, Xop Tip, Muong Tip commune... often has landslides causing traffic jams.

In addition, there are some areas in the area that are at high risk of landslides if heavy rain occurs. Therefore, along with ready forces and means to respond, the Muong Ai Border Guard Station Command has consulted and coordinated with local authorities to put up danger signs so that people can proactively take precautions.

At the same time, arrange forces to check and promptly detect areas at risk of landslides, especially residential areas, schools, etc. to organize the evacuation of people and property out of dangerous areas, limiting property damage to people.

When storms, strong winds, and big waves passed, the construction teams in military uniforms, the carpentry teams in green uniforms, and the Border Guard's shock troops did not mind the difficulties of the weather and terrain, actively and proactively implementing activities to help people and localities overcome the consequences such as building and repairing houses, roads, and auxiliary works, and soon stabilizing their lives.

According to Colonel Nguyen Cong Luc - Commander of Nghe An Border Guard: In the work of preventing, combating, overcoming the consequences of natural disasters and searching, rescuing and saving victims, the Border Guard force is always proactive in developing plans, mobilizing forces, means and organizing on-duty, ensuring conditions ready to respond to situations.

Units always thoroughly implement the policy of "prevention is the main thing, be proactive, quick information, good coordination, save people first, then vehicles"; flexibly apply the motto "4 on-site" to minimize damage to people's lives and property, and the State.

When the weather turns bad, the Border Guard actively coordinates with local authorities to propagate to people not to be subjective and negligent; organizes the evacuation of people in dangerous places to safe areas; mobilizes forces to help people reinforce their houses, harvest crops, and have protection plans to prevent bad guys from taking advantage of storms and floods to steal and destroy people's property...

Ensuring safety for ships and boats during stormy season

Along with the land border, the coastal border units are also ready with "4 on-site" plans to respond to natural disasters. According to current statistics, Nghe An province has about 2,833 ships and boats with 13,638 workers operating at sea.

During storms, along with maintaining on-duty duty, coastal border units also coordinate working measures, grasp the situation of people and vehicles operating at sea, especially offshore fishing vessels operating in dangerous areas, and, together with the families of ship owners and captains, call and guide ships and boats to safe places to avoid and take shelter from storms.

Strictly implement the ban on sea travel of the Provincial People's Committee, resolutely do not allow ships and boats to go to sea until further orders. At the same time, closely monitor weather developments on mass media, proactively review and supplement plans to respond to natural disasters, search and rescue, and be ready with forces and means to coordinate with localities to participate in timely and effective rescue when needed.

As one of the localities with a large number of ships, boats and fishermen operating in the East Sea, Mr. Bui Xuan Truc - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district said that every time there is a natural disaster or storm or flood, the Border Guard force has proactively contacted local authorities to propagate to the people, informing ship and boat owners and fishermen about the weather situation to escape from the dangerous area. When the ships return to port, the Border Guard officers and soldiers also coordinate to arrange ships and boats to ensure safety and prevent fires and explosions.

For sea routes, in addition to propagandizing and mobilizing people to bring their ships and boats ashore to avoid and take shelter from storms, border guards also increase inspection and control forces at river mouths and estuaries to prevent people and vehicles from operating during storms; arrange anchorage areas for ships and boats to avoid storms; and prepare human resources and means to carry out rescue missions when situations arise.

On May 3, Quynh Phuong Border Guard Station received a report that fishing boat NA 4611 TS, captained by Hoang Duc Dong (born in 1990), permanent resident of Tan Tien block, Quynh Phuong ward (Hoang Mai town), along with two crew members, Hoang Duc Thi and Truong Van Hung (born in 1985), both residing in Quynh Phuong ward (Hoang Mai town), was fishing for squid at coordinates 19°09'N - 105°47" E when a whirlwind overturned and sank the boat. Hoang Duc Thi swam away and was rescued by a small boat, while Hoang Duc Dong and Truong Van Hung were missing.

Upon receiving the news, Quynh Phuong Border Guard Station notified the neighboring border guards; the vehicles operating near the area of ​​the shipwreck, and at the same time, coordinated with the locality and family to mobilize ships to coordinate the search. After 2 days, the rescue team found 2 victims trapped in the sunken fishing boat.

It can be said that with their proactive spirit, high determination, and timely presence in emergency situations, the soldiers in green uniforms have become a reliable "support" for the government and people in responding to natural disasters.