Bringing peace back to the flooded area of ​​Ky Son

Hoa Son will never be the same again.

When we arrived, Mr. Vi Van Thong in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune (Ky Son) was busy welding a folding hammock frame. He made this hammock to welcome his newborn son back home. His wife gave birth to their first child during the flood in October this year. The young couple's house is located next to Huoi Giang stream.

Every day, Mr. Thong works as a mechanic while his wife runs a small wholesale shop. Then, just a few hours after the flood came, the house was swept away. His wife had to carry the newborn baby to her parents' house in Ninh Binh province, while Mr. Thong temporarily stayed at his parents' house. Vi Van Thong said he even intended to name his child Vi Van Lu to remember the historic flood that swept away his warm home, but his wife wanted to forget the haunting memory of that morning - the morning of October 2, 2022.

Destruction still surrounds Hoa Son village. Photo: Lam Tung

Coming to Hoa Son village these days, what catches your eye are wooden houses, dilapidated houses, lying crookedly next to Huoi Giang stream.

Lam Van Hoi's house is one of them. Hoi said that when the flood came, his family of 6, including a small child, only had time to escape. All that remained was the house frame with rocks and soil up to the roof. "There has never been such a terrible flood in Ta Ca" - Lam Van Hoi shared.

What remains of Lam Van Hoi's house in Hoa Son village. Photo: Lam Tung

After two consecutive flash floods occurred on the morning of October 2, 35 houses in Hoa Son village were swept away and collapsed. After 45 days of the flood, the haunting memories still dominate every meal and sleep of the people.

Ms. Ngan Thi Tam said that the flood completely swept away her family's three houses. That was the house of her and her two sons. With no place to build a temporary shelter, Ms. Ngan's family had to rent a room to live in. Each month, the cost is an additional 1 million VND/room.

After 45 days of flood, life of Hoa Son villagers has not returned to normal. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Hoa Son village has 244 households, of which the Thai ethnic group accounts for more than 80%. After the flood, the village was completely deformed, many houses were difficult to determine the exact location because they were located entirely in the Huoi Giang stream. Up to now, thousands of cubic meters of rock and soil still occupy most of the village area. From the kindergarten to the community cultural house, and many other infrastructure works are surrounded by mud with a height difference of 0.5m to 1.5m. And humorously, the flood was so terrible that the rock and soil it brought helped Hoa Son village increase its height from before by 0.5-1.5m. And what worries the Party Committee and the executive committee of Hoa Son village the most is that Hoa Son plans to reach the new rural village finish line in 2022. Mr. Vi Van Truyen - Head of Hoa Son village believes that the village will never be the same again. Because from now on, 138 households will have to resettle to new places according to the district’s planning. The sadness and anxiety will last for many more years.

Hoa Son village chief Vi Van Truyen (middle) talks with Nghe An Newspaper reporter. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Warmth of Great Unity Day

However, today, many people still gathered in front of the community cultural house. Here, people set up a very large tent. Everyone became more excited when the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee organized a National Great Unity Day in conjunction with the National Assembly delegates' meeting with voters. People also participated in a solidarity meal right in Hoa Son village.

People brought drums and gongs to participate in the Great Unity Festival held on the afternoon of November 17. Photo: Dao Tuan

It has been a long time since the people of Hoa Son village had a warm day. Hundreds of people from Hoa Son village and neighboring villages such as Binh Son 1, Binh Son 2, Son Ha flocked to the small village by the Huoi Giang river to watch the art performances by the Ta Ca commune art troupe.

Art performance to celebrate the National Unity Day performed by Hoa Son villagers. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The National Great Unity Day associated with the voter contact in Hoa Son also had the participation of the National Assembly delegates of Nghe An, leaders of the Provincial Fatherland Front, leaders of the Party Committee, local authorities and some volunteer units. This is nothing more than sharing the difficulties that the people of Ta Ca commune experienced in the recent flood. Maybe in the future there will no longer be a beautiful Hoa Son village like before, there will no longer be a peaceful village located by the Huoi Giang stream, 138 households have to move to a new resettlement area, but the stories of humanity and solidarity will remain warm forever.

Ms. Ngan Thi Tam shared: "It is true that people face many difficulties and shortages, but we are very grateful to the Party, the State, and the hearts of agencies and departments. Without timely help, we do not know how people can live until today. On the Great Unity Day, the Provincial Fatherland Front organized many warm activities, people were very excited."

Ms. Ngan Thi Tam said: Her family had 3 houses swept away by the flood, including her house and the houses of her 2 sons. "Thanks to the timely attention of the authorities, we have been able to survive until today. Thank you very much" - Ms. Ngan said. Photo: Lam Tung

At the National Great Unity Day, the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An Province and the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province held a groundbreaking ceremony to build 2 bridges for Hoa Son and Na Nhu villages, each bridge worth 65 million VND; donated 1 Great Unity house to a poor household worth 60 million VND; supported Hoa Son village with 60 million VND to purchase cultural facilities for the Community Cultural House.

At the National Great Unity Day, the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee awarded 60 million VND to support a household in Hoa Son village to build a Great Unity House. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The National Assembly delegation of Nghe An province presented gifts to support households in Hoa Son village. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The Provincial Federation of Labor donated money to build 5 houses for the people, each worth 40 million VND. The Veterans Association, the Provincial Women's Association and Ky Son District also gave gifts to households in Hoa Son village.

With the efforts and solidarity of households, the joint support of Party committees, authorities, and the Fatherland Front at all levels, it is hoped that peace will return to the places where the flood has passed.

Although there are still many difficulties and shortages, we hope that everything will pass quickly and joy will soon return to Hoa Son village. Photo: Dao Tuan

Losses due to floods

The flood in early October in Ky Son district also caused damage to 3 schools in the area, including 2 classrooms in Hoa Son village, 3 classrooms in Binh Son 1 village of Ta Ca Kindergarten and the boarding house of Nam Can Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities. Many traffic works, national highways, provincial roads, district roads and inter-village and intra-village traffic were severely eroded. The estimated damage was 100 billion VND. In addition, the flood also seriously affected technical infrastructure, architectural works, industrial production activities, agriculture, aquaculture, people's lives... with a total damage of 215 billion VND.

People in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune are still living in makeshift houses. Photo: Thanh Cuong

To help people in flood-affected areas overcome the consequences of the floods, Ky Son district has allocated from the budget to support 163 households with 5 million VND/household. In addition, after the flood, more than 600 organizations and individuals supported Ky Son district with 55 billion VND to overcome the consequences. The local relief committee, through socialized sources, has also supported 167 households with 5 million VND/household. In addition, many tons of goods and necessities have been supported by philanthropists, organizations and individuals.

The urgent issue for people in the flooded areas of Ky Son is to relocate to a new resettlement area. According to the plan of Ky Son district, the resettlement area for households that have to be relocated is planned to cover an area of ​​12.9 hectares. Of which, the residential land is expected to be 5.7 hectares for 225 households. The total investment is about 70 billion VND.