Promptly address the isolation of villages in Yen Hoa commune.
Nearly a week after Typhoon No. 10, three hamlets in Yen Hoa commune, home to over 300 households, remain isolated, and students have to cross the river daily by boat or raft, a very dangerous situation. The local government and people of Yen Hoa commune are making efforts to raise funds to build a temporary bridge to help people escape their isolation.
Life threatened because there is no longer a bridge.
On the morning of October 6th, marking the start of a new week, teachers and students returned to school. However, in Yen Hoa commune, this beginning was not as usual, because the sturdy bridge connecting the commune center with three villages had been swept away by the flood, preventing teachers and students from crossing the river as normal. Instead, they had to rely on the police, militia, and commune and village officials to mobilize boats and canoes to transport groups of teachers and students across the river amidst the strong, muddy floodwaters.
“On Monday morning, 209 students and 28 teachers had to wait in groups to board boats to cross the river. This was because the Trung Thang concrete bridge connecting the commune center with three villages (Xop Coc, Vang Lin, and Tat) had been swept away by the flood, leaving only the two bridge abutments and one bridge pier in the middle of the river,” said Mr. Dau Duc Truyen, Chairman of the Yen Hoa Commune People's Committee.
Because the bridge was swept away, over two consecutive days (October 5-6), four people from three isolated villages fell seriously ill and needed emergency medical attention. Local and village forces had to run, use motorbikes, and even build rafts to transport people across the river to the hospital for emergency treatment.
Mr. Lo Thanh Binh, Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: "On the morning of October 5th, around 8:30 AM, upon receiving a distress call from the villagers, the commune police officers, along with commune and village officials, traveled on foot, by motorbike, and even used boats and rafts to cross the river to Tat village to bring two people across and to the hospital. The process of transporting the patients was very difficult; in some sections, the police officers had to carry the child along the slippery mountain slopes and riverbanks. They also used stretchers and motorbikes to 'transfer' the patients in a race against time to save them..."
Earlier, on October 4th, Mrs. Lo Thi Duong (75 years old), residing in Xop Coc village, suffered from appendicitis. Local authorities and the Party Committee dispatched police and military forces from the commune to assist her, simultaneously waiting for a motorbike and constructing a raft. They also assigned people to swim alongside the raft to quickly help her cross the floodwaters and reach a pre-arranged vehicle on National Highway 48C, from where she was then transported by ambulance to a hospital in Con Cuong. Thanks to the efforts of these forces, Mrs. Lo Thi Duong, as well as Mr. Phuc and her grandson Manh, were saved in time.
Previously, immediately after the storm subsided, heavy rain and rapidly rising water swept away two construction workers who were in the commune; as of October 7th, they have still not been found. Another case involved a child from the commune living in Dien Chau who was visiting their grandmother in Xieng Lip village. The child was swept away by floodwaters near Trung Thang bridge and their body has since been found and brought home for burial.
It is urgent to build a bridge across the river.
Faced with continuous threats to people's lives and disadvantages in transportation and schooling for students and teachers, Mr. Dau Duc Truyen said that the commune is currently researching and balancing funding sources, as well as calling on organizations and individuals for additional support to build a temporary bridge across the river.
“The Trung Thang concrete bridge was swept away by the flood, leaving only the two bridge abutments and one central pier. Temporarily, we are planning to build a steel bridge for pedestrians to cross. The steel bars will be welded together and supported by the remaining abutments and piers. However, this is only a temporary solution. If another flood occurs and the river level rises, even with a temporary bridge, the authorities will still have to prohibit crossing. Because the river here flows swiftly, the water rises quickly, and carrying soil, rocks, and trees makes it very dangerous.”
It has been learned that during and after Typhoon No. 10, Yen Hoa commune suffered heavy damage to both people and property, as well as infrastructure. Specifically, strong winds and heavy rain caused 7 houses to collapse completely; 103 houses were flooded, and 18 villages were completely isolated for several days. In addition, Yen Hoa Secondary School was flooded with water 1-3 meters deep, with water overflowing into the first-floor classrooms, and Yen Thang Kindergarten was also flooded.
Regarding transportation routes, National Highway 48C is flooded at three points: Cooc village, Yen Tan village, and Xop Chang bridge in Yen Hop village. Provincial Road 543B is deeply flooded at Na Pu spillway, making it impassable for residents. On Highway 11, three spillway bridges are flooded: Vang Ong, Xop Coc, and Vang Mai, isolating Xop Coc and Tat villages. The Xieng Lip - Xop Kha road has a deeply flooded spillway bridge with numerous landslides, isolating Xop Kha village. The Yen Tan - Yen Huong road has the Yen Huong spillway bridge flooded, isolating Yen Huong village. The Khe Ngau village road in Canh Khin village has a flooded Khe Ngau spillway bridge, isolating 30 households. A reinforced concrete bridge on Highway 11 from Trung Thang to Tat village has collapsed and been swept away.
