People in Nghe An province are finding various ways to cope with the heat when the power goes out.

Hang a hammock and sleep under a tree.

At 10:30 AM on June 3rd, Mrs. Che Thi Minh, residing in Hamlet 1, Nghi Van Commune, Nghi Loc District, was still sitting under a tree near the road in front of her house. Sweat drenched her back, soaking her shirt, and she continuously wiped her face with a towel.

Ms. Minh said, "It's so hot, and there's a power outage, so I can't sit inside. I've been sitting under a tree since morning. But it's almost 11 o'clock, the sun is high in the sky, and even sitting under the tree is stiflingly hot. I ate cold rice for lunch today because I didn't cook it; I'd have to light a wood-burning stove, which is too hot."

Ms. Che Thi Minh, from Hamlet 1, Nghi Van Commune, sleeps in a hammock under a tree. Photo: Hoai Thu

Then she pointed to the hammock strung between two trees in her garden and explained that yesterday (June 2nd) there was a power outage from 7 PM to 2 AM. It was so hot she couldn't sleep, so she had to go out to the garden in the middle of the night to hang her hammock under the trees. Meanwhile, her two grandchildren, who live with their parents across the street, cried all night because of the heat. Their parents had to take turns fanning them to sleep, and then they had to go to work early in the morning, exhausted and worn out.

Hamlet 1, Nghi Van commune, is located along Provincial Road 534. The scorching heat combined with power outages has disrupted the daily lives of the residents.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, who lives not far from Ms. Che Thi Minh's house, said that the neighborhood has about 100 households, and almost every house has elderly people and young children. For about a week now, there have been power outages every day, sometimes from dusk until dawn, causing many people to fall ill. The younger children cry and are restless, while the older ones are upset and can't sleep.

With the power outage, Mrs. Minh had to use a wood-burning stove. Photo: Hoai Thu

"For the past week, there have been frequent power outages. Every day, my family eats dinner late, around 9 PM, and then we set out the table and take the meal outside to the yard or garden to escape the heat. Whenever there's electricity, we take advantage of it to charge our phones, rechargeable lamps, and rechargeable fans. However, not every household has a rechargeable fan," said Ms. Lan.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Gai from Hamlet 4, Hung My Commune (Hung Nguyen District) also said that hamlets in Hung My Commune have been experiencing rolling power outages in recent days, forcing people to go out into the streets, looking for trees or shady spots to cool down.

Hamlet 4, where her family lives, experiences fewer power outages, around 3-4 hours per day. However, the hamlets in the upper part of Hung My (referred to as Thuong My area) suffer from frequent power outages. "Yesterday (June 2nd), the hamlets in the Thuong My area were without electricity for a full day and night," Ms. Gai said.

Pooling money to buy a generator, they run their car engine and sleep overnight.

In Hamlet 1, Dai Son Commune (Do Luong District), on the morning of June 3rd, Mr. Le Van Nga said: "For the past two days, Dai Son Commune only had electricity from 8 am to noon (11 am). Last night (June 2nd), there was still no electricity at midnight, and my three grandchildren couldn't sleep because of the heat. Out of concern for them and fear they would get sick, I had to start the car engine and run the air conditioner so the four of us could sleep in the car. Because I was worried about their safety sleeping in the car, I stayed awake all night to watch over them," Mr. Le Van Nga said.

A family in Hamlet 1, Dai Son Commune, started their car engine so their grandchild could sleep because the power had been out all night. (Photo: PV)

On the morning of June 3rd, several households in Hamlet 4, Dai Son Commune, reported that even when electricity was available, it was weak during peak hours, making it impossible to run air conditioners. To cope with power outages, the households pooled their money to buy a mini generator to power fans and light bulbs.

Not only in Dai Son commune, but many other communes in Do Luong district also experienced power outages lasting for hours, or even at night, forcing residents to evacuate their homes. For example, in Hamlet 6, Quang Son commune, on the night of June 1st, some households brought mats to the hamlet's cultural center to find a cool place to sleep; other households with young children rented rooms at guesthouses with generators to rest.

Residents of Hamlet 1, Dai Son Commune, pooled money to buy a mini generator to combat the heat, mainly to power electric fans for the elderly and children. Photo: HT

Daily life and business activities have been affected.

In recent days, people in many districts, towns, and cities have been sharing information on social media about power outages affecting their daily lives, work, production, and businesses. On June 2nd, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan from Anh Son town (Anh Son district) shared on social media about how people are "coping" with power outages: "Many families couldn't bear it and had to take the elderly and children to the town or places with electricity to stay temporarily."

Besides Anh Son, Quy Hop, and Con Cuong districts, residents in districts such as Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai town, and Thanh Chuong district have also reported numerous power outages that significantly impact their lives and work.

At 11:00 AM on June 3rd, Mr. Nguyen Canh Nam, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh An commune, Thanh Chuong district, stated: "We understand that this is due to an overload or insufficient supply to meet demand, forcing the Electricity sector to implement rotational power cuts. However, if this continues in the long term, the lives and production of the people will be disrupted and significantly affected."