The man recounts the moment he led his wife and four children to safety from their house, which had been destroyed by the flood.

The 4 AM escape

On the afternoon of July 8th, still reeling from witnessing his entire property swept away by the raging floodwaters, Mr. Ly Van Quang (41 years old, residing in Giao Chan village, Khong Lao commune) tearfully recounted the life-or-death moments. His family works in agriculture; he and his wife spend their lives toiling in the fields to raise their four young children.

Around 4 a.m. that same day, while sleeping, Quang was awakened by the sound of torrential rain. A premonition of something bad happening prompted him to quickly get up and check.

"Seeing that the situation was not good, I immediately woke my wife and all the children up to prepare to pack. At that time, people from the village also came down to help the family move our belongings," Quang recalled.

In an instant, the water in the stream surged upwards, forming large whirlpools that swept up earth and rocks, slamming them violently against the house's foundation.

Ms. Mai Thi Hong Sim, Secretary of the Party Committee of Khong Lao commune, confirmed that before collapsing, the house had shown signs of deep erosion, eroding the foundation and causing the structure to tilt severely.

Thanks to early detection, all six members of Mr. Quang's family managed to escape the house and move to a safe place. At around 8:30 AM, the entire two-story concrete structure completely collapsed into the Nam Lum stream.

Looking at the empty plot of land where his home once stood, Quang choked up as he explained that the house, with a floor area of ​​80m² (total area of ​​160m² for both floors), had been built by his family with their savings starting in 2019.

“We worked hard to earn some money, and after saving up for a long time, we finally managed to repaint and renovate our house last year. We thought life was finally stabilizing, but now we’re in this situation. Currently, we have no money, and I don’t know how we’re going to restore the house,” the father of four shared, his voice choked with emotion.

Currently, the six members of the family are temporarily sheltering on the porch of an uncle's house in the village.

Besides the house, estimated to be worth around 1 billion VND, which was completely swept away, the yard, livestock pens, and 8 pigs belonging to Mr. Quang's family were also destroyed by the flood. Some essential assets had been moved to safety beforehand, so no casualties were reported.

According to the People's Committee of Khong Lao commune, the recent floods caused property damage of approximately 1.4 billion VND throughout the commune. Regarding housing, 4 households were affected, including Mr. Quang's house which was completely destroyed; one house in Hoang Then village suffered 70% damage; and two houses in Na Doong village suffered 30-50% damage.

The natural disaster also flooded 2.6 hectares of rice fields and affected 7 fish ponds in Lang village, resulting in the loss of approximately 875 kg of fish and estimated damages of 70 million VND. Many households also suffered damage to their livestock sheds and yards due to landslides.

According to the Party Secretary of Khong Lao commune, the locality is still facing the risk of flooding and landslides due to prolonged heavy rain. The authorities have mobilized forces to assist people in overcoming the consequences, and at the same time advised people to stay away from rivers, streams, and flooded areas to ensure safety.