Fighting floods overnight in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang; 'Unprecedented floods' leave 4,000 houses in Phu Tho submerged
Floods on rivers are rising rapidly, and authorities and people in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces are making efforts to protect vulnerable areas.
Speaking to VietNamNet reporters on the morning of September 11, Mr. Hoang Cong Bo, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hiep Hoa district (Bac Giang province) said that floodwaters have now overflowed the dike in Da Hoi village, Hop Thinh commune. That very night, authorities urgently evacuated hundreds of households to safety, with priority given to the elderly and children.
"Da Hoi village (about 500 households with nearly 2,000 people) is located outside the main dike and is protected by a secondary dike, which can only withstand level 2 of water. We have evacuated people from the village to a safe place. During the night, the authorities also helped people move their belongings to higher floors," said Mr. Bo.
In Bac Ninh province, the water level on the Cau River continues to rise. The provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control issued alert number 3 on the Cau River from 9am on September 10.
The work of being on duty and reinforcing the dike system in Hoa Long ward (Bac Ninh city) is being carried out seriously, without subjectivity or negligence.
50 officers and soldiers of the Mobile Police Department (Bac Ninh Provincial Police) and nearly 1,000 people participated in flood prevention from the afternoon of September 10 to nearly 2:00 a.m. on September 11. Currently, the reinforcement of the dike system in Dau Han neighborhood (450 households with nearly 2,000 people, located outside the Cau River dike) basically ensures the flood prevention requirements set by the professional agency.
Directly inspecting the work of dyke reinforcement and evacuation in Dau Han neighborhood, Chairman of Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee Vuong Quoc Tuan requested Bac Ninh City, police and military units to increase forces, vehicles and supplies to support the locality in evacuating people and moving assets to a safe place.
In addition, Mr. Tuan requested to provide medicine and necessities, ensuring enough for people during flood avoidance; complete the construction of dikes to prevent overflow; arrange suitable locations, mobilize shock forces to be on duty, ready to protect dikes in all situations.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quang Ha, Captain of the Mobile Police Company of Bac Ninh province, shared: "Upholding the tradition of "if there is difficulty, the police will do it", facing harsh weather, we are not afraid of difficulties, always promoting the spirit of courage and responsibility with the highest goal of protecting the safety of people's lives and property".
The dyke line in Dau Han quarter is 2.3km long, with the lowest elevation reaching 7.1m (80cm higher than alarm level 3), and the highest elevation reaching 8m (1.7m higher than alarm level 3).
The dike has been concreted by the authorities and localities to meet traffic requirements and ensure flood prevention since 2010.
* The water flow from the upper reaches of the Red River in the past two days has been very large, people in the two districts of Ha Hoa and Cam Khe (Phu Tho province) are struggling to cope with the flood water.
Over the past two days, the water level on the Red River in Am Thuong commune (Ha Hoa district) was 28.69m, 2.69m above alert level 3, surpassing the historical flood peak in 1971. Many households in Cam Khe and Ha Hoa districts were deeply flooded.
According to VietNamNet reporters on the afternoon of September 10, the left and right dikes of the Red River in Ha Hoa and Cam Khe districts have many points where the water is almost overflowing. Localities are implementing earthworks to prevent overflow.
According to statistics from the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue of Phu Tho province, nearly 4,000 households were flooded and had to evacuate people and property to safe locations.
