On the third day after the flood hit the villages of Ta Ca commune, Ky Son district, amidst the ruins, we met many people right at the epicenter of the flood. They were villagers, neighbors, people from neighboring communes, district and provincial officials, armed forces, philanthropists... All of them, whether they were acquaintances or strangers, shared the same goal of helping people overcome the consequences of natural disasters.
Ha Ba Chong, who has a house right next to the slope near where the flood came in Son Ha village, still shudders with fear every time he recalls the sounds and images that terrified and devastated the villages on the night of October 1 and the morning of October 2. Mr. Chong said that at around 1 a.m. he heard people screaming for help, the sound of water pouring down and rocks rumbling down from the top of the mountain like the sound of a helicopter. The flood swept away 3 houses at the intersection at the beginning of the village, burying a 4-month-old baby and killing him before he could call out "mom". Three other people were swept away by the flood, including Mr. Chong's cousin, named Cho.
“My cousin was also swept away by the flood more than 100m, but luckily he clung to an iron net on the side of the road and escaped death, but his property and house were swept away by the flood. He and his wife are currently staying at my house. Although he escaped death, Cho's entire leg was torn and torn from the impact with trees and rocks in the flood. By the morning of October 4, although the wound on Cho's leg was still bleeding, Cho went with the healthy people in the village to help the affected households,” said Mr. Chong. Like Cho, many other households, although their houses and property were damaged, were fortunate to still be healthy and able to help their neighbors. They put aside their losses to join hands to help and share the hardship with their fellow countrymen.
That is the family of teacher Vi Van Hung in Hoa Son village, who cooks 2-3 quintals of rice and sticky rice every night to save the people from starvation when the flood has swept away all their houses and belongings; the Chief of Police of Ta Ca commune, Lo Dinh Quang, who, although his beloved house has also been swept away by the flood, is still diligently helping the people. I met Lo Dinh Quang right in Hoa Son village when it was past 12 noon, although his police uniform was soaked with sweat, he was still agile and went back and forth among the crowd, not afraid to climb over streams, cut through high hills, and slippery slopes to carry rice and water to the villagers.
Lo Dinh Quang's house and his parents' house both collapsed in the flood, so he had to stay at a neighbor's house. Lo Dinh Quang himself stayed at teacher Vi Van Hung's house, both to conveniently help the people and to help Mr. Hung cook and deliver hot meals to his people during the time they were isolated by the flood.
At the epicenter of the flood, Mr. Mua Ba Tua's house in Son Ha village was also lost in the raging water. "After the flood, all of Mr. Mua Ba Tua's assets were gone except for a cow that was lucky to escape death. The villagers gave him food and clothes to wear to protect him from hunger and cold, but the cow was at risk of starvation because the roads were cut off and he was isolated, unable to get grass. Knowing Mr. Tua's situation, the head of Huoi Kha village of Huoi Tu commune, Mua Dua Thai, did not hesitate to carry a full load of grass across the hills, following the stream to bring grass to save Mr. Mua Ba Tua's remaining precious "property" from starvation" - Chairman of the People's Committee of Huoi Tu commune, Mua Ba Gio, said.
Mr. Mua Ba Gio also added that right after the flood occurred, dozens of cadres and people of Huoi Tu commune voluntarily brought hoes and shovels to cross hills and streams to Ta Ca to help their fellow countrymen overcome the consequences of the natural disaster.
“There were days when up to 72 people from Huoi Tu went to Ta Ca, Muong Xen to help people, for example on October 5-6, including 25 commune officials, 11 militiamen, the rest were officials and people from the villages. By October 13, Huoi Tu people had gone to the flood-hit areas 3 times to help people in the villages clean up their houses and clear the roads with 136 people participating” – Chairman of Huoi Tu Commune People’s Committee said.
Not only Huoi Tu commune, all the remaining communes of Ky Son district sent delegations of cadres and people to go to Muong Xen and Ta Ca to join hands with the government and forces to race against time. There were communes such as Huu Kiem, Chieu Luu, Bao Nam that had previously suffered many impacts and losses due to heavy rains and landslides, causing dozens of households to suffer damage; there were communes dozens of kilometers away such as Na Ngoi, Keng Du, Muong Ai... but in the face of the calamity of their compatriots, cadres and people were all enthusiastic and determined to lend a hand to help the affected families overcome the flood soon.
We, the information and propaganda workers, were also present in the first days of the flash floods in the damaged villages of Ta Ca commune and Muong Xen town, Ky Son district.
In addition to performing professional duties, facing the devastation caused by the flood to our people, we quickly called on and connected with kind-hearted organizations and individuals to donate and support dozens of trucks, dozens of tons of necessities and rice to help the people of Ky Son overcome the consequences of the natural disaster. All contributions and support from people in the province and in the country were received by the district leaders and the Fatherland Front organization of Ky Son district, gathered at a location which is the headquarters of the district's Department of Education and Training.
On October 4, 2022, at the Department of Education and Training of Ky Son district, at around 7:30 p.m., it was already dark, and the power outage made it difficult for people to see each other's faces, but everyone worked hard to carry heavy water tanks and milk crates from the 3-ton truck to the yard. One of the "porters" that day was Vice Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Ky Son district, Vi Thi Quyen. While the people were in need of support, even though they were district officials, even though their families had lost their homes and property, they still devoted their hearts and efforts day and night to taking care of the people.
After the flood, the center of Muong Xen town became a huge construction site. Amidst mountains of rocks and soil taller than a person, a series of excavators, bulldozers and hundreds of people worked hard day and night to dig rocks and soil, dredge mud, and repair electricity and water lines. In the chaos, Border Guard soldiers crossed the flood to help take a child to the emergency room, while police soldiers used specialized vehicles to take the child to the hospital in time.
Lieutenant Colonel To Van Hau - Head of Ky Son District Police said that from October 2 to now, the provincial and district police forces have mobilized 350 officers and soldiers; the Ministry of Public Security has increased the Mobile Police force by 100 people to help people clean up. By the morning of October 13, the provincial police force temporarily withdrew, the Mobile Police force still stayed with the people to help.
There are 11 families of officers and soldiers of Ky Son district police affected, including the house of one comrade, To Dinh Quang - Chief of Ta Ca commune police, and his parents' house was completely collapsed, currently having to stay at someone else's house. However, the officers and soldiers still help people overcome the consequences of flash floods, while ensuring security and order, fighting and handling some cases of distorting the truth about the local support regime, as well as the hearts of benefactors towards Ky Son.
In addition to the police force, hundreds of officers and soldiers of the Border Guard, the army, and local organizations were present at the flood epicenter, playing a key role in helping people overcome the disaster. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Dong - Commander of the Ky Son District Military Command said that in order to promptly help people overcome the consequences of the flood, the District Military Command quickly implemented the "4 on-site" motto, mobilizing 40 officers and soldiers of the agency, along with the militia and self-defense forces of Huu Kiem, Chieu Luu, Pha Danh, and Bao Nam communes to provide timely rescue. In addition, the Provincial Military Command also immediately mobilized 150 soldiers of Regiment 764 to participate.
In the isolated areas, in addition to district cadres, Border Guard forces from posts stationed in neighboring communes were also the first to reach the people, bringing food and supplies and surveying and assessing the damage. On October 3, following the banks of rivers and streams, when we reached Binh Son 1 village, which was isolated by landslides, we saw officers and soldiers from My Ly Border Guard Station present, working hard to repair houses for the people.
“Our working group has been in Binh Son 1 for 2 days, carrying out the task of helping households that lost their homes stabilize their living conditions, build temporary houses; relocate households at risk of house collapse and repair houses damaged by floods. We will only return to our units when people have stabilized their lives,” said Captain Phan Duc Tam, Deputy Political Commissar of My Ly Border Guard Station, Head of the working group. Colonel Ho Quyet Thang, Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Provincial Border Guard, also affirmed that by October 12, the Nghe An Border Guard Command had mobilized over 150 officers and soldiers to be present at the flood hotspot of Ta Ca commune, Ky Son district, along with local authorities and other forces to stabilize people’s lives. The Border Guard force will stay with the people until the work is done before returning.
Sharing and helping people in the flood-hit area of Ky Son are also many individuals and organizations with kind hearts. They come from all over the country, regardless of the long distance, as soon as information about the terrible flood occurred, the kind-hearted people immediately made a call for support.
As of October 10, 146 organizations and individuals inside and outside the province have supported Ky Son with a total amount of cash and dozens of tons of goods of all kinds worth more than 29 billion VND.
In addition, there were 1.6 billion VND in cash and dozens of tons of goods such as instant noodles, milk, rice, water, blankets... converted into money of more than 2.9 billion VND. Many volunteer groups also went to villages to give cash to people worth more than 2.7 billion VND and the goods that the groups themselves transported to the people were worth nearly 1.4 billion VND.
The joint efforts, sharing, and solidarity of the entire political system and the social community towards Ky Son have become a great source of encouragement for the government and people here to soon return to normal life. Those sentiments have become the strength for each citizen and official of Ky Son to overcome the disaster, as the sentiments of a Ky Son resident were widely shared on social networks: “3:45 a.m., October 2, 2022 was truly a terrifying night for me, my family, and the people of Block 1, Muong Xen town and some villages of Ta Ca commune. At that time, the road was full of mud, rocks, and trees across the gate. Fortunately, the whole family was able to escape and leave all their belongings behind.
Up to now, more than 2 weeks have passed, everything is still in disarray, the heart is still uneasy every time it rains. But in return, from the Party Committee, the government, the mass fronts from the district down to the communes and towns, there have been words of encouragement both materially and spiritually. Especially from other districts, "benefactors", businesses and charities have come to share the hardships with the people of Ky Son.
Although there are still many hardships ahead for people's lives to be considered stable, with faith in the Party and the government, we will gradually overcome the flood"...
