Water rises, people rush to escape flood

(Baonghean.vn)- Floodwaters from upstream and from rivers and streams in Ha Tinh have caused many downstream communes of Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, and Hung Nguyen districts to be deeply submerged. Many localities have been completely isolated, and people have been rushing to flee the flood.

The North Central Hydrometeorological Forecasting Center said that due to the influence of storm No. 11 combined with cold air, it caused moderate wind and rain, some places had very heavy rain. The average rainfall was from 150.0 - 350.0mm, some places had heavy rain such as Do Luong: 289mm, Nam Dan 393mm, Vinh 188.3mm, Quynh Luu 270mm. Heavy rain in the past two days combined with flood water from Ha Tinh and two dams in Thanh Chuong district broke, causing flood water on rivers and streams to rise. The water level at 4:00 p.m. on October 17 in Nam Dan was 6.65m (0.25m below alert level II). According to forecasts, floods on rivers in the province continued to rise. On the evening of October 17, the water level on the Ca River in Nam Dan rose to 7.0m, 0.10m above alert level II, and continued to rise. Rapidly rising floodwaters have isolated many residential areas, causing much loss of life and property.

Flood water inundated houses in Hung Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen district.

Located outside the Ta Lam dike, several times a year, the people of Hung Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen district have to endure flooding when the Lam river rises. This year, within the past month, people have had to flee the flood twice after two consecutive storms. On the morning of October 17, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quy in Hung Nhan commune was herding buffaloes as usual, when at noon she saw the water pouring in and rising very quickly. In about an hour, the water flooded the road from Ta Lam dike to the center of the commune and continued to rise, flooding the village roads and people's houses.

Immediately, without anyone telling them, everyone hurriedly lowered the wooden boats, jacked up the rice fields, and brought some assets such as motorbikes and electronic devices to the village inside the dike. Some old people and children were also evacuated because they were afraid that if the rain continued to be heavy, the flood water would rise and cause danger. By early afternoon, when the jacking up of assets was completed, Hung Nhan commune had turned into a sea of ​​water, completely isolated, and could only be traveled by boat. At this time, people started rowing boats, bringing bamboo, and tarpaulins to the dike to build shelters for cows, pigs, and chickens to avoid the flood.

Hung Nhan people rushed to escape the flood.

Located next to Hung Nhan commune, hamlets 1, 2, 6, 7 of Hung Loi commune are also deeply flooded. Since noon, children in the hamlets have had to cross the river to go home from school, and in the afternoon they have to stay home because the water is too deep and flows fast. On the afternoon of October 17, while hurriedly bringing a few buffaloes up to the dike to avoid the flood, Mr. Minh, 67 years old, sighed, "My people have always suffered from floods. Usually, heavy rains and long periods of time cause big floods, but this year the floods have been continuous, and the water has come too quickly. Luckily, I have experience with water, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get back in time." In hamlet 12 of Hung Long commune, the only road from the dike to the hamlet was also flooded several meters deep. People can only get back and forth by boat or raft.

Sea water isolates people in communes outside the dike of Hung Nguyen district.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan - Chairman of Hung Nhan commune said that since morning, 7 hamlets have been flooded, by afternoon the whole commune was completely isolated. Students had to stay home from school, their parents took them to the attic to avoid the flood, only adults who needed to go out by boat. Currently, the commune's flood and storm prevention force is being mobilized 24/7 to be ready to help families in deep flood to escape if the water continues to rise.

Here are pictures of Hung Nguyen people fleeing the flood:

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Performed by: Nguyen Son - Faculty

In Thanh Chuong district, heavy rains lasting for the past two days have caused dams in Thanh Chuong district to be full of water and have to be released. Notably, two small dams have broken: Con Den dam in Thanh Xuan commune, 30m long, 2.5m high, with a water storage capacity of 7,000 m3.³ and Phop dam has a water storage capacity of 18,000 m³. Heavy rains combined with the collapse of two dams have caused deep flooding in Thanh Xuan and Thanh Mai communes. Mr. Bui Van Thang, Chairman of Thanh Mai Commune People's Committee, said that currently, hamlets 3, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B have turned into islands, with two houses collapsed due to heavy rain, all fish ponds in the locality have been flooded, and people have lost everything. Thanh Tung commune, located in a low-lying area of ​​Thanh Chuong district, has also been divided into eight different areas. For the past two days, students have been off school to avoid danger.

Boats are the main means of transportation in flooded areas.

Thanh Chuong district currently has 240 houses deeply flooded, mainly people in Bich Hao area including Thanh Ha, Thanh Tung, Thanh Giang, Thanh Mai, Thanh Xuan, Thanh Lam communes and some households in the downstream areas of the spillway dams. Currently, students in these areas are all absent from school due to the flood.

In Nam Dan district, floodwaters from upstream combined with heavy rains have caused many areas to be deeply flooded. Hamlets 4 and 5 of Nam Loc commune are located next to the foot of Ba Khe dam. Over the past two days, water has flowed over the dam's spillway, causing many houses to be submerged up to half a meter deep. By the afternoon of October 17, some houses and kindergartens in Nam Loc commune were still flooded. Low-lying communes such as Nam Phuc, Nam Cuong, Nam Kim, and Nam Hoanh of Nam Dan district are now deeply flooded and completely isolated.

People of Hung Loi commune move in flooded water

The provincial Flood and Storm Prevention and Search and Rescue Command said that heavy rain after storm No. 11 caused large and small dams in the province to be full of water. In addition to the two small dams that were broken in Thanh Chuong district, the authorities also had to urgently lower the spillway of Don Hung reservoir in Lang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh. This is an irrigation reservoir managed by the Bac Irrigation One Member Co., Ltd. When the water flowed over the spillway by 1.1m, the water level was 0.82m from the top of the dam, the provincial Flood and Storm Prevention Command directed the company to lower the secondary spillway, which was 18m wide, 25m long, and 1.3m deep. Before lowering the secondary spillway, many households in Lang Thanh commune living below the spillway were moved to a safe place. For the past two days, the local authorities of Nam Kim commune and the Nam Irrigation Company have been working hard to handle the downstream spillway incident of Thanh Dam when the water level flowing over the spillway by 0.9m had 8 leaks. By the afternoon of October 17, the leaks had basically been resolved, and the management unit was on duty regularly to handle incidents caused by floods. At Vuc Mau Lake (Hoang Mai town), one gate is still being opened, while Song Sao Irrigation Lake (Nghia Dan district) is also opening one spillway to ensure safety...

People set up camp on Ta Lam dike to avoid the flood.

Currently, in addition to the inter-hamlet and inter-commune roads in Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Yen Thanh, and Hung Nguyen that are deeply flooded and impassable, a number of national and provincial highways are also submerged in floodwater. On National Highway 7, section km16 - km18 through Yen Thanh and Do Luong districts, the floodwaters are 0.4 - 0.5 km deep, causing traffic congestion. Provincial Road 531 in Nghia Binh, Nghia Hong, Nghia Hoi, Nghia Hung, and Nghia Thinh communes of Nghia Dan district is currently deeply flooded. Many sections are flooded up to 2.8 m deep, and the road management agency has set up barriers to prohibit people and vehicles from passing. According to forecasts, in the coming days, there will continue to be heavy rain, the flood situation will remain very complicated, people need to be vigilant, not subjective to ensure the safety of people and property.

Nguyen Khoa