Many families have set up temporary tents on the foundations of their former homes, now reduced to rubble, twisted tin sheets, and warped door frames after the flood.
According to Moong Van Po from Pha Mut Village, the water rose so quickly that he only had time to carry the children, while his wife grabbed a bag of clothes, and they fled for their lives.
Huoi To 2 Village devastated by the floods (Photo by Kha Cham)
Moong Van Po’s family now lives in a makeshift shelter amid the wreckage, with a tattered tarpaulin roof propped up by hastily cut branches and a plastic sheet laid over broken bamboo serving as the floor.
“When it rains, the roof leaks; when the wind blows, it howls through the shelter. The kids can’t sleep at night,” Po said, adding that “Some days we get by with a handful of rice, other days just instant noodles from relief aid.”
The flash floods following Storm Wipha left the border commune of Nhon Mai devastated. Some villages, including Huoi Co, Huoi To and Pha Mut, were nearly erased from the map.
Many houses in Huoi To 2 Village are damaged (Photo by Kha Cham)
After the flood, Nhon Mai was isolated entirely with no power, patchy phone signal, broken bridges, and landslide-blocked roads. Relief could only reach Xoi Voi Village on National Highway 16, from where rice, noodles, and water had to be carried on foot through the forest to other villages.
“It was the most terrifying flood I’ve ever seen. I barely had time to grab my wife and kids before the water surged like a waterfall. The next day, there was nothing left, just bare earth, not even a pot,” said Kha Van Chan, from Huoi To 2 Village.
Noc Van Chuyen from Xoi Voi Village tended a small fire and said, “We’re just grateful to be alive. For now, we’re in a makeshift tent, hoping the government helps us move soon; it’s too dangerous to stay if the rains return.”