15 days after flash flood, many families in Ky Son still cannot return home

Live temporarily at relatives' house

According to the reporter's records, after 15 days of the flash flood, with the tireless efforts of the forces, authorities and people, the amount of soil and rocks on the roads, headquarters of agencies, mass organizations and block 1 area, Muong Xen town has been basically dredged by machines; people have gradually returned to their daily lives and work.

The road to Son Ha village, Ta Ca commune is still in disarray, cars cannot enter. Photo: Quang An

However, when entering Ta Ca commune,Ky Son district, before our eyes is still a scene of devastation and nothing has improved for the people's lives. In these areas, because vehicles cannot enter, the damage is still completely overcome by human power. Although the main roads from Muong Xen town to Hoa Son village have been cleared, the roads to Son Ha, Binh Son 1, Binh Son 2 villages are still in disarray, cars still cannot enter. Local authorities and organizations and individuals continue to support the people.

Ms. Vi Thi Mai's house was completely washed away, leaving only the ground. Her family has had to stay temporarily at a relative's house for the past two weeks. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Standing in front of the bare ground, Ms. Vi Thi Mai in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune sadly said that the recent flood had swept away the entire 3-room stilt house and all the property in the house, now all that remains is the floor filled with dirt and rocks. For the past 15 days, the family of 4 has had to stay at a relative's house. It is unknown how long this situation will last. Looking at the pouring Huoi Giang river, Ms. Mai choked up: "I hope the State will soon arrange a resettlement area so that my family can stabilize their lives soon, otherwise I will not dare to build a house here anymore."

Although the flood did not completely sweep away their house, the family of Mr. Lo Trung Hai and Mrs. La Thi Mai (over 70 years old) had almost all of their belongings in the house damaged by the flood and some walls collapsed. So far, only a part of the house has been repaired. Mr. Lo Trung Hai said that due to their old age, they are not strong enough to repair the damage, and are waiting for the border guards to come and help. The whole family still has to stay at relatives' houses, lacking everything.

Mrs. La Thi Mai's house in Hoa Son village is still in disarray and cannot be lived in anymore. Photo: Quang An

Revisiting the family of Mr. Ha Giong Hua in Son Ha village, one of the households whose property was swept away by floodwaters. Although the family had cleared away all the dirt and rocks, the house still looked abandoned and empty.

Mr. Ha Giong Hua said that although his family has received some cash support, they have not dared to buy any household items to return to their home because they are afraid of landslides, and there are many areas around their house that are at high risk of landslides. For now, the family will have to stay at someone else's house.

Many houses still have a thick layer of mud that cannot be completely scraped after 2 weeks. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to the reporter's records, there are still about 100 households taking refuge at relatives' houses because their houses were washed away and are in high-risk areas. The money received in the past time is mainly for daily living expenses because they do not have a house and cannot buy property again.

Urgent resettlement for people

Currently, the Nghe An Border Guard force is still staying to help people overcome the consequences. Captain, Head of the Mass Mobilization Team of Keng Du Border Guard Station Bui Van Ngoc shared: "Since the flash flood on October 2nd, the unit has always maintained more than 10 officers and soldiers directly helping people. Although the flood has passed for 15 days, the flood epicenter is still littered with soil, rocks, trees... that cannot be completely handled. Many houses have not been cleared of soil and rocks. Therefore, our current job is to continue helping people remove soil from the foundation of their houses, clean up the environment, and gradually release soil and rocks on the internal roads. In general, we are ready to help any family that needs support."

Authorities have remained at the site for many days to help people overcome the damage. Photo: Quang An

Hoa Son village is the center of the recent flash flood, so the number of households affected is the largest, with 38 houses swept away and collapsed. Mr. Vi Van Truyen - Head of Hoa Son village said: For households whose houses were swept away by the flood, losing all their property, people have not been able to stabilize their lives. For households that are less affected, although they have cleaned up and have temporary living space, they face many difficulties, because they do not know what to do to improve their lives. Because the fields are buried by rocks and soil, the barns are damaged, they have not been repaired for livestock farming, and there is still a lack of water for daily life...

The amount of mud in people's houses continues to be cleared. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Vi Van Truyen said that not only the households that lost their homes, but also hundreds of other households should not stay here anymore, because the risk of flash floods, landslides and mountain landslides is very high. Currently, many places are at risk of landslides at any time, so when there is heavy rain, households in dangerous areas are forced to evacuate. Therefore, the State needs to soon have a solution to resettle 73 households to a safe place.

Although not swept away, most of the houses in Hoa Son village are uninhabitable, so there needs to be a safe resettlement site for the people. Photo: Quang An

Currently, besides food, clean water is the most important thing for the people. Because the natural water supply works are damaged, in recent days, the authorities and households in the village have gone into the forest to find water sources, contributing money to buy water pipes for people to use for free at 2 water supply points, however, this is only a temporary solution.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Huu Minh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Son district said: In addition to the post-flood people's livelihood issues, the urgent task now is to establish a new resettlement area for people to stabilize their lives. Therefore, in the past time, the district has actively surveyed a number of locations in Muong Xen town and Ta Ca commune, but the most favorable area is still Cau 8 village, Ta Ca commune, with an area of ​​about 10 hectares. This is a favorable area for creating land for housing, transportation, schools, domestic water sources, electricity grid, etc.

Gifts of encouragement continue to be sent to the people, helping them gradually stabilize their lives. Photo: Quang An

Earlier, in the early morning of October 2, flash floods occurred in the villages of Hoa Son, Son Ha, Binh Son 1 and Binh Son 2 of Ta Ca commune (Ky Son), causing severe damage. 55 houses were completely collapsed; dozens of houses were cracked and collapsed; many properties of the people and the State were damaged and swept away. The total damage was estimated at over 215 billion VND./.

Xuan Hoang - Quang An