Hoang Mai: Flood after flood, people left empty-handed

(Baonghean.vn) - The heavy rains of the past few days combined with the continued discharge of floodwaters from Vuc Mau Lake have isolated many communes and wards of Hoang Mai town.

On the afternoon of October 18, Ms. Ngo Thi Huong, residing in Block 25, Mai Hung Ward, Hoang Mai Town, absentmindedly cycled to the sweet potato field when the water had just receded. Looking at the water hyacinth covering the banks of the field, the sweet potato stalks that had just sprouted but had wilted after more than a day in the water, Ms. Huong could only sigh in frustration: “During the previous flood, my house was flooded up to the roof. When the water receded, the whole family went to the field together to grow some corn and sweet potatoes to recover what had been lost. Unexpectedly, as soon as the potatoes sprouted, the water poured back. So everything was lost.”

Mrs. Ngo Thi Huong was absent-mindedly standing next to a potato field full of water hyacinth.

Sharing the same situation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly in Block 19, Mai Hung Ward said that after the flood caused by storm No. 10, she took the opportunity to re-cultivate the land and sowed 2 sao of winter corn. When the corn had just sprouted 3 cotyledons, it was soaked in silver water and could not continue to grow. When the water receded, Ms. Ly went out to check the corn field and found that the roots had completely rotted. Mr. Dau Viet Hien, Chairman of the People's Committee of Mai Hung Ward, said that during the prolonged rain after storm No. 11, some hamlets in the ward were isolated. Although the water had not yet flooded deep into people's houses, many households living around the Hoang Mai River still moved to higher ground, to prevent deep flooding like the previous flood. Mai Hung Kindergarten and Primary School had to close because the roads were cut off by water. During this flood, Mai Hung lost more than 50 hectares of corn, 15 hectares of winter sweet potatoes and some ponds where fish had just been restocked were also completely washed away.

Mr. Dau Viet Hien, Chairman of Mai Hung Ward People's Committee, on a flooded corn field.

Due to the influence of storm No. 11 and the northeast monsoon, there was heavy to very heavy rain in Hoang Mai town. On October 17, the rainfall amounted to 280mm, combined with the release of floodwaters from Vuc Mau reservoir through both gates and rising tides, causing localized flooding in communes and wards. Some roads and fields in communes and wards such as Quynh Vinh, Quynh Xuan, Quynh Lien, and Mai Hung were deeply flooded. On the afternoon of October 17, seeing the floodwaters pouring in quickly, hundreds of households in residential areas B, Quynh Thien ward, Quynh Vinh commune, and Mai Hung ward panicked and raised their assets and evacuated to safety for fear of a sudden flood like the previous one.

“The heavy rains over the past two days have caused many communes to be isolated. Although there were no casualties, the floods have submerged 150 hectares of winter corn and 500 hectares of vegetables that had just recovered from the previous flood. Many communes and wards have proactively let students stay home from school to avoid danger. Many households have also proactively evacuated to avoid the flood. Because of the continuous flood, people have encountered many difficulties in stabilizing production after the recent historic flood,” said Mr. Pham Chi Dien, Deputy Head of the Economic Department of Hoang Mai Town.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Loc, Head of the Education Department of Hoang Mai town, said that the floods in the past two days have caused kindergartens and primary schools in Quynh Lap, Quynh Thien, Quynh Trang, Quynh Xuan, Quynh Vinh, and Mai Hung to be flooded and isolated, and students cannot go to school.

On the afternoon of October 18, in Hoang Mai town, the sky was clear, the clouds had cleared, and there was no rain. The floodwater had receded on the flooded roads, leaving only a few low-lying fields that were deeply flooded. People were restless and worried, unable to sit still, hoping that the water would recede so they could go back to the fields and continue production. Mr. Nguyen Canh Hy, Director of the Quynh Luu District Irrigation Enterprise, said that although on October 16 and 17, the reservoir had proactively discharged floodwaters from two spillways and discharged tens of millions of cubic meters of water, the amount of rain in the upstream was so large that by 5:00 p.m. on October 18, the water level at Vuc Mau Lake was at 20.62 m, so the Enterprise decided to proactively open one floodgate (previously, the reservoir closed the floodgate at 3:30 a.m. on October 18) to ensure the safety of the project, in case it continued to rain heavily, the water poured in quickly and had to open many floodgates, which would cause major flooding in the downstream area.

Nguyen Khoa