Nghe An residents find ways to cope with heat during power outage

Hang a hammock to sleep under a tree

At 10:30 a.m. on June 3, Ms. Che Thi Minh in Hamlet 1, Nghi Van Commune, Nghi Loc District was still sitting under a tree near the road in front of her house. Sweat was dripping down her back, and she kept using a towel to wipe her face.

Ms. Minh said, “It’s too hot, and there’s a power outage, so I can’t sit inside, so I’ve been sitting under a tree since morning. But it’s almost 11 o’clock, the shade is round, and sitting under the tree is also very hot. I ate cold rice for lunch today, I didn’t cook because I had to light a wood stove, it was very hot.”

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

Then she pointed to the hammock hung under two trees in her garden, saying that yesterday (June 2) the power went out from 7pm to 2am, it was too hot to sleep, at midnight she had to go out to the garden to hang a hammock to sleep under a tree. Her two grandchildren who lived with their parents across the street cried all night because of the heat. The parents had to take turns fanning their children to sleep, and woke up early to go to work, exhausted and tired.

Hamlet 1, Nghi Van Commune is located along Provincial Road 534. The heat combined with power outages has disrupted people's daily lives.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, not far from Ms. Che Thi Minh's house, said that the neighborhood has about 100 households, almost every house has elderly people and children. For about a week now, the power has been out every day, sometimes from early evening until morning, causing many people to get sick. The younger ones cry and struggle, the older ones are upset and can't sleep.

Due to a power outage, Ms. Minh had to use a wood stove. Photo: Hoai Thu

“There have been frequent power outages this week, so my family has been having dinner late every day, clearing the dishes at around 9pm and bringing them out to the yard or garden to cool off. Whenever there is electricity, we charge our phones, use rechargeable lamps, and use rechargeable fans. However, not every house has a rechargeable fan to use,” said Lan.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Gai in hamlet 4, Hung My commune (Hung Nguyen) also said that in recent days, hamlets in Hung My commune have had rotating power outages, forcing people to go out into the streets, find trees, and shady places to cool down.

Hamlet 4 where her family lives has less frequent power outages, about 3-4 hours/day. Meanwhile, hamlets in the upper area of ​​Hung My (called Thuong My) have frequent power outages. "Yesterday (June 2), hamlets in Thuong My area had a power outage for a full day and night," said Ms. Gai.

Pool money to buy a generator, start the car and sleep overnight

In Hamlet 1, Dai Son Commune (Do Luong District), on the morning of June 3, Mr. Le Van Nga said: "For the past two days, Dai Son Commune only had electricity from 8am to noon (11pm). Last night (June 2), until midnight, there was still no electricity. My 3 grandchildren could not sleep because of the heat. I felt sorry for them and was afraid that they would get sick, so I had to start the car engine, turn on the air conditioner so that the 4 of them could sleep in the car. Because I was afraid that sleeping in the car was not safe, I stayed up all night to keep watch" - Mr. Le Van Nga said.

A resident of Hamlet 1, Dai Son Commune, started the car engine to let his child sleep because of the power outage all night. Photo: PV

On the morning of June 3, some households in Hamlet 4, Dai Son Commune said that if there was electricity, it was weak during peak hours and could not run air conditioners. To cope with the power outage, the households pooled money to buy a mini generator to use fans and light bulbs.

Not only in Dai Son commune, many other communes in Do Luong district also experienced power outages for many hours, or power outages at night, forcing people to "evacuate" from their homes. For example, in hamlet 6, Quang Son commune, on the night of June 1, some households brought mats to the hamlet's cultural house to find a cool place to sleep; some other households with small children rented rooms in motels with generators to rest.

Residents of Hamlet 1, Dai Son Commune contributed money to buy mini generators to fight the heat, mainly to run electric fans for the elderly and children. Photo: HT

Life and business activities are affected

In recent days, on social networks, people in many districts, cities and towns have shared information about power outages affecting their daily lives, work, production and business. On June 2, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Toan in Anh Son town (Anh Son district) shared on social networks about how people "deal" with power outages: "Many families cannot bear it and have to take their elderly and children to the town or places with electricity to stay."

In addition to Anh Son, Quy Hop, and Con Cuong districts, people in districts such as Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai Town, and Thanh Chuong District also reported that power outages have greatly affected their lives and work.

At 11:00 a.m. on June 3, Mr. Nguyen Canh Nam - Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh An Commune, Thanh Chuong District said: "We also understand that this is due to an overload incident, or the supply is not enough to meet the demand, forcing the Electricity industry to have to cut off power in rotation, but in the long run, if it continues like this, people's lives and production will be disrupted, greatly affecting."