Muong Quang highland commune (Nghe An) strives to implement solutions to overcome damage and restore production after floods.

Efforts to restore agricultural production area

In recent days, in the fields of Pun village, Muong Quang commune, Mr. Lo Van Khan (born in 1974) and his family have always been on duty to deal with the consequences of floods.

He said that his family's rice fields were over 2,000 square meters. On the night of July 21 and 22, after a long period of rain, the water rose and completely covered the fields. After the water receded, many rice fields were silted up and covered with garbage. In response to this situation, his family and the village's rapid response team immediately built banks, cleaned up the garbage, and removed some of the silted soil and rocks. Thanks to timely efforts, the family was able to restore over 1,000 square meters of rice fields.

Not only Mr. Khan, the people of Pun village also actively went to the fields right after the water receded. At the same time, they closely coordinated with the village's rapid response force to overcome the consequences scientifically. Each person had a job: some built banks, scooped mud, some collected trash, cleared the flow... The heavily buried fields were given priority to be treated first, divided into groups of households to work in rotation. Thanks to that, some areas of rice and crops were restored after the flood.

It is known that the affected rice area of ​​the whole Muong Quang commune is 164.58 hectares. Of which, the rice area damaged by over 70% is 112.98 hectares. The affected crop area is 34.25 hectares.

After the water receded, the commune's agricultural officers went down to the fields to guide people on how to identify areas that could be salvaged and to delineate areas that needed to be renovated in preparation for new planting.

In areas where rice fields can still recover, people are encouraged to focus on cleaning up trash, draining water, adding biofertilizers, and clearing the banks to create conditions for the rice plants to recover. In areas with severe damage, the commune is planning to plant corn and other crops instead.

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The commune is focusing all resources to help people restore production. Planting corn and some suitable crops is a flexible solution in the condition of fields being filled with silt and the land not yet recovered, at the same time, taking advantage of the cultivated land, not leaving it fallow.

Mr. Lu Thanh Binh - Vice Chairman of Muong Quang Commune People's Committee

In Pha Pat village, Ms. Lo Thi Hien (born in 1983) said that the recent flood had partially collapsed her family's kitchen and submerged a fish pond of more than 700 square meters, causing almost all of her fish fry and meat to be swept away.

Immediately after the water receded, her family started cleaning up, reinforcing the eroded foundation of the house, bracing the kitchen roof, and dredging the mud in the pond to continue renovating and raising a new batch of fish.

“The damage is huge, but I can’t just sit there and complain. As long as I have strength, I can rebuild,” Ms. Hien shared.

According to estimates, after the flood, the total number of poultry killed and swept away in Muong Quang commune was more than 1,500; nearly 10 hectares of fish farming area suffered over 70% damage.

The commune government is coordinating with the villages to conduct specific reviews and statistics to propose and support the relevant departments with breeding stock and animal feed, and at the same time guide people to restore barns and renovate ponds. In the immediate future, the commune prioritizes mobilizing people to take advantage of available materials, proactively clean up the environment, and prevent epidemics after the flood.

Deploy multiple solutions in sync

Mr. Sam Ba Tuan - Chairman of Muong Quang Commune People's Committee said that on the night of July 21 and 22, due to the impact of storm No. 3, Muong Quang commune experienced prolonged heavy rain, the water level of rivers and streams rose suddenly, causing damage to agricultural and forestry production and people's property. In addition to 164.58 hectares of rice and 34.25 hectares of crops affected, the irrigation system, traffic and infrastructure in the area also suffered serious damage.

Specifically, the suspension bridge in Ban Quanh (in the old Chau Thon commune) was swept away by water, damaging the beams and bridge deck. National Highway 48D has eroded the foundation in many places; about 30m of the road railing is at high risk of landslides. Mud, soil, and sand from the river overflowed, causing flooding and mud in many locations... The total estimated damage in the whole commune is up to more than 19.4 billion VND.

Faced with that situation, the Party Committee and the communal government urgently developed a response and remedial plan.

As for the suspension bridge in Ban Quanh - the project that was washed away after the flood, the commune has proposed to build a road to avoid the flood. At the same time, continue to invest in building a new suspension bridge in Ban Quanh by hardening it to ensure safety, long-term durability, and suitability for the terrain conditions that are often affected by rain and floods.

In addition, there are a number of irrigation canals that have been damaged by floods in recent years, and are now further damaged by storm No. 3, which need investment support to repair and restore. The commune is reviewing, re-evaluating and making specific recommendations, because the repair costs exceed the local budget.

With the National Highway 48D section in the commune being eroded and landslide, the Commune People's Committee mobilized local vehicles and materials to temporarily level the road, ensuring that vehicles could circulate. For the sections of road flooded with mud, the Commune mobilized excavators, local forces, union members, youth, and militia to participate in cleaning and clearing the road surface to restore traffic.

Thanks to these concerted efforts, the damage caused by storm No. 3 in Muong Quang commune has been initially overcome. The local government and people are continuing to join hands and unite to soon stabilize production and life.