Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee inspects flash flood scene in Tuong Duong and Que Phong

Also attending were representatives of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Department of Irrigation, and related units and localities.

In Que Phong district, the working group inspected the flash flood scene in Lam Hop and Pa Khom villages of Tri Le commune. Many roads were eroded and damaged. Houses and structures such as embankments, domestic water tanks, etc. were still buried under rocks and soil.

According to a report from Que Phong district, heavy rains caused flash floods and landslides, affecting 22 houses, of which one house collapsed completely and five were severely damaged. Many houses were flooded with mud and rocks, especially in Tri Le and Hanh Dich communes. In addition, more than 470 livestock and poultry were swept away; 52 hectares of aquatic products and nearly 180 hectares of various crops were severely damaged.

Regarding infrastructure, the transportation system was eroded at many locations such as the Chau Kim - Nam Giai inter-commune road, National Highway 48 in Thong Thu commune. The total volume of soil and rock eroded was up to hundreds of cubic meters. In addition, 1 spillway collapsed, 4 temporary sluices were washed away, more than 590m of irrigation ditches were buried, 25 water wheels were washed away, and 7 electric poles were broken. According to statistics, the total damage in Que Phong district was more than 70 billion VND.

In Tuong Duong district, the working group inspected the scene at Tung Hoc and Con Phen villages, Huu Khuong Secondary School for Ethnic Minorities in Huu Khuong commune and Tham Tham village, Nhon Mai commune.

Here, many roads were eroded, many houses were flooded with rocks and soil, and suspension bridges were broken. At Huu Khuong Secondary School, although the forces had helped clean up, the school was still in disarray, with many furniture, desks, chairs, and student belongings… covered in mud.

According to a report from Tuong Duong district, the heavy rain that occurred on the evening of May 29 caused severe damage in the communes of Huu Khuong, Nhon Mai, Yen Tinh and Yen Thang, of which Huu Khuong and Nhon Mai were the two communes most seriously affected.

In Tuong Duong district, 65 houses were damaged or swept away, causing an estimated loss of nearly 1.14 billion VND. In addition, 5 houses had to be urgently evacuated and 53 others were affected by landslides.

Regarding agricultural production, more than 47 hectares of rice, nearly 18.4 hectares of crops, 16.8 hectares of cassava and nearly 4 hectares of fruit trees were damaged by over 70%. Aquaculture activities were also seriously affected with 18 fish cages and 1.38 hectares of fish ponds being washed away. The livestock sector recorded the death of 20 buffaloes and cows; 85 pigs and nearly 1,000 poultry...

In particular, the local infrastructure system was severely damaged. 3 bridges were washed away, 4 electric poles fell and caused power outages, many inter-commune and inter-village roads were seriously eroded. Notably, 2 sections of National Highway 16 through Nhon Mai commune were eroded and broken with the total estimated repair cost of more than 20 billion VND. The total damage in Tuong Duong district is estimated at about 35 billion VND.

After inspecting the scene in the two districts, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De praised the local authorities' quick and proactive response, and shared the difficulties and losses with the people in the affected areas.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Van De requested localities to continue to maintain the spirit of "4 on-site" in natural disaster prevention and control, especially the work of warning and evacuating people in areas with high risk of landslides. At the same time, mobilize all resources to urgently overcome landslides, ensure smooth traffic, restore electricity, water systems, irrigation works, ensure people have conditions to stabilize their lives and reproduce, and study resettlement arrangements in weak and high-risk areas.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to preside over and coordinate with relevant units to promptly develop a plan to support each locality according to the level of damage. Particularly for the two districts of Tuong Duong and Que Phong, the urgent requirement is to continue to review and assess the damage, and prepare documents to promptly support food and essential supplies, especially for communes that suffered heavy damage such as Nhon Mai, Huu Khuong, Tri Le, Hanh Dich, etc.

In the immediate future, the province requests all levels and sectors to join hands to support the affected people, so that no one will suffer from hunger or lack of water after the natural disaster. In the long term, it is necessary to make a comprehensive assessment and propose sustainable solutions suitable to the specific terrain conditions of mountainous areas to minimize damage in the upcoming flood season.

Quang An