Anxious about the flood season in Cao Veu

Risk of flood season

Cao Veu (also known as Veu village) is the common name of 4 villages Veu 1, Veu 2, Veu 3 and Veu 4 in the remote, border area of ​​Phuc Son commune, Anh Son district. Cao Veu currently has 370 households, with 1,337 people, the majority of whom are Thai ethnic people. The life of people in Cao Veu is still very difficult, labor and production activities are closely linked to mountains, forests, streams and creeks.

Over the years, with the attention of the Party, the State and the people's contributions, Cao Veu has built an electricity and road system, relatively meeting the people's living needs. However, at present, the transportation system, especially the road from the villages to the production areas that must cross rivers and streams, is not guaranteed, posing many potential safety risks, especially during the rainy season.

Recently, in Cao Veu commune, a very tragic drowning incident occurred. Specifically: At 5:30 p.m. on July 19, a group of Cao Veu people returning from the production area to the village got stuck in Veu stream due to heavy rain causing the stream to rise and flow rapidly. This group of people divided into many groups to cross the stream. However, the last two people were swept away by the water, they were Ms. HTL (46 years old, in Veu 2 village) and D.TH (34 years old, in Veu 3 village).

After the accident, local people and authorities organized a search. On the morning of July 20, Ms. L's body was found more than 1 km from the accident scene. On the morning of July 21, Ms. H's body was found about 5 km from the accident scene.

Mr. Dang Dinh Lam - Head of Veu 2 village led us back to the site of the accident. - It was a stream about 15m wide, the water flowed slowly, not too deep, just above the knees of an adult. Mr. Lam said: Normally, Veu stream is very gentle. However, with just one heavy rain, the water rose very quickly and flowed very strongly. It was very dangerous for people to wade through at this time, especially for those returning from work with boots, protective clothing, and work tools.

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Although the village already has a cemetery (the cemetery of 4 villages planned in Veu 3 village has an area of ​​1.8 hectares). The road to the cemetery is paved with asphalt and concrete, making it convenient to travel. However, according to local customs, people here often bury their deceased in the family cemetery with the wish to be close to their ancestors and grandparents.

Mr. Bach Dinh Dung - Head of Veu 3 village, Anh Son

Currently, the family cemetery and the production area of ​​Veu 1, Veu 2, Veu 3 villages are all located on the other side of Veu stream. Every day, people still go to the production area to grow corn, tea, and acacia (the production area of ​​Veu 2 village alone is 100 hectares). During the rainy season, wading through the stream to reach the production area is very dangerous. People are very worried and hope that the authorities, sectors, and localities will pay attention and support the construction of a suspension bridge for people.

Many problems to solve

The tragic drowning accident that killed two people has sounded the alarm bell of danger in Cao Veu commune. Immediately after the incident, the People's Committee of Anh Son district directed Phuc Son commune to urgently carry out safety work during the rainy and stormy season.

Accordingly, the People's Committee of Anh Son district requested Phuc Son commune to propagate and mobilize people not to cross rivers and streams during the rainy and flood season; regularly update weather developments and risks of accidents and injuries during the rainy and stormy season on the grassroots radio system so that people know and take precautions.

Phuc Son commune urgently reviews and puts up danger signs, strictly prohibits crossing rivers and streams at locations where people often travel, which are at risk of being unsafe during storms and floods; develops response plans to ensure safety for people when working and producing during floods and high water levels; reviews and reports on the current status of the network and infrastructure of people's transportation serving the production and daily life of people in Veu villages; based on urgent needs, proposes infrastructure solutions to overcome the above situation.

Following the direction of Anh Son district, Phuc Son commune has been implementing safety work during the storm season.

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The commune has organized propaganda to help people understand and prevent landslides and drowning before the rainy season; organized inspections, reviews and placed 11 warning signs in dangerous deep water areas to let people know.

Mr. Nguyen Sy Thang - Vice Chairman of People's Committee of Phuc Son Commune

The People's Committee of Phuc Son commune, through collecting people's opinions, advised the People's Committee of Anh Son district on resettlement arrangements for 9 households at risk of landslides and flooding in Veu 1 village; proposed that superiors invest in a suspension bridge for people in Veu 2 village, and a service road for people to travel most safely, especially during the rainy, stormy and flood season; proposed to invest in hardening the road to Bop village and Chau Tam village (currently a graded road)...

In particular, in the area of ​​4 Cao Veu villages, there is Khe Gon bridge at km 11 of road 534C (belonging to Cao Veu village 4) which is often flooded. Here, just one heavy rain session is enough to cause flooding, sometimes the flood is over 4m deep, the flooded area is 50m wide. When the water floods, all 4 villages are completely isolated. Phuc Son commune really hopes that the superiors will soon have a solution to invest in building a bridge to help people travel conveniently, avoiding long-term isolation during the rainy season - Mr. Nguyen Sy Thang added.

Regarding the proposals of the government and people of Phuc Son commune, Anh Son district is currently considering and resolving them. Mr. Dang Ba Ky - Head of the Economic - Infrastructure Department, Anh Son District People's Committee said: With the proposal to build a people's bridge, the district has directed functional departments to survey, plan and mobilize and use resources for implementation.

Khe Chon Bridge is located on Provincial Road 534C managed by the Department of Transport, which has been included in the province's planning but has not yet been implemented. For the Bop and Chau Tam villages, the district currently does not have the funds to build the road surface, and hopes that all levels and sectors will pay attention and support the funding for construction. Currently, Anh Son district has also directed Phuc Son commune to re-plan the centralized cemetery of 4 villages, expanding from 1.8 hectares to 5 hectares to ensure convenience in burials in the future./.