More than 25 years ago, when the people of Dat Mui were living the last days of October 1997 very peacefully with trips out to sea full of shrimp and fish. Suddenly, a low pressure appeared in the East Sea, with winds of level 6, level 7. The weather forecasts about the possibility of forming storm number 5 at that time were not paid attention by anyone... On November 1, 1997, the low pressure increased to level 8, gusting over level 10, storm number 5 formed with the international name Linda. The people of the Southwest sea at that time still did not believe that the storm would hit this peaceful land, because in the past, there were not many storms strong enough to reach here.
At 12 noon on November 2, 1997, Linda brought winds of level 11, 12, with a speed of 100 km/h, and began to sweep through the southern area of Con Dao. The storm was approaching, but at that time, people in the six provinces of the West and the entire Southeast and South Central regions were still "calm as a cucumber". Many fishermen in Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, and Kien Giang still sailed their boats out to sea as usual. They said: Weather forecasts are not very accurate; folk experience is more important... They were eager to hear that their friends' boats had a big catch of shrimp, fish, and squid on a rough sea day.
Small boats were still leisurely casting their nets in the open sea. On tiny huts that looked like bird nests in the middle of the ocean, fishermen were still sitting and waiting for their catch of shrimp and fish. The sky was still clear, occasionally white clouds appeared. On the sea of Ca Mau, at that time, there were more than 700 boats with thousands of workers still leisurely fishing... Many people were curious and ran out to "see what the storm was like"! No one tied up their houses, only a few bought instant noodles to store at home, still not believing that a storm would happen in a land "that has not had a storm for a hundred years".
Hours before Linda made landfall, the sky was clear and cloudless. Few people knew that Linda’s winds were over 100 km/h and constantly changing direction. By 8pm on November 2, 1997, the rain was drizzling, then the wind picked up and a tornado arose. Anchored ships were tossed upright and capsized. Hundreds of people were drowned in the sea.
Storm No. 5 with wind gusts of level 12-13 made landfall in the Southwest sea area, causing heavy losses in human lives and property of people in coastal localities, especially Kien Giang province. The storm sank more than 2,500 fishing boats; thousands of houses were destroyed by the storm, causing economic losses of more than 1,500 billion VND. Even more heartbreaking, the storm took the lives of nearly 500 innocent people, injured nearly 340 others... Storm No. 5 caused immeasurable pain and loss to fishermen in the Kien Giang sea area.
Storm Linda 25 years ago is still a terrifying obsession for people on the Nam Du island cluster (about 80 km from Rach Gia city, Kien Giang province). Not far from Nam Du wharf, a memorial stele has been erected to commemorate the victims who died due to the storm. The content on the back of the stele is short but full of sorrow: “On land and sea of Kien Giang on November 2 and 3, 1997, storm No. 5 caused damage: 460 people died (397 in the province, 63 outside the province); 335 people were injured; 2,383 ships sank (2,184 sank, 199 missing); 3,210 houses collapsed, 20,537 roofs were blown off. The total amount of money is 1,515.66 billion VND. The whole people will forever commemorate those who died due to storm No. 5”.
The pain will gradually subside with time. A Nam Du devastated after the storm has been revived. But that stele still reminds us of the lesson of being alert to natural disasters, of the power of nature, of the ingratitude of the “soul hanging on the mast” profession…
Rising from the historic storm, Nam Du is now different from before. In economic development, islanders no longer depend on fishing, but also combine tourism development based on the local advantages.
With 21 large and small islands and many pristine landscapes, Nam Du archipelago is known as “Ha Long of the South” and is becoming an attractive tourist destination for domestic and international tourists. The best time to visit and explore Nam Du island lasts from November this year to the end of May next year. This is the time when the sea is calm and clear.
Developing tourism, the transportation system on the island is being built better and better, helping people and tourists to travel conveniently. Many investors have gradually come and built many high-class resorts on Nam Du archipelago. The whole archipelago has more than 70 motels and guesthouses with over 600 rooms and many means of water transport, passenger cars and motorbikes to ensure serving the needs of tourists... Tourism is gradually helping people on An Son island commune to have more income and improve their lives. It is estimated that in 2022, more than 90,000 visitors will visit Nam Du island.
Tourism has been identified as a key economic sector by Kien Hai district and An Son commune. Comrade Tran Quoc Toan - Secretary of the Party Committee of An Son commune said: "The commune encourages business households to diversify essential goods, especially tourism products, to serve the consumption and production needs of the people and develop tourism sustainably. In addition, we also encourage businesses to invest in tourism development in tourist areas such as Bai Cay Men, Bai Dat Do ...; invest in developing eco-tourism under the forest canopy, swimming, diving to see coral, community tourism models, creating landscapes to develop marine and island eco-tourism associated with environmental protection".
