Many touching stories have developed as details emerge of survival stories during the devastating floods which have hammered Vietnam’s central region.
Thousands of people screamed for help (Photo by Minh Ly)
Risking it all to save others
Floods struck Huong Khe district , Ha Tinh Province quickly as vicious water flowed submerging homes within minutes.
“Flood water was escalating and it’s likely that it was running after us. I have never ever witnessed such a terrible flood like this,” said Hoa, a 90-year-old man living in Ha Linh Commune, Huong Khe District, Ha Tinh Province.
Without any boat to escape, thousands of lives were in danger of natures wrath. Sounds of screaming could be heard and feelings of panic overcame many.
Hamlet 6 of Ha Linh Commune has a total of 104 families. Only 9 of them were spared having their homes flooded.
Nguyen Thi Ly has 3 children. Her husband works for the military and is staying in Ca Mau Province. Ly and her children had to sleep on the top of the wardrobe in case water levels rose and during the night the wardrobe was nearly submerged. They had no idea what they could do and kept crying. They were surrounded with water and their lives were in peril.
Suddenly, Ly and her children heard the sound of a chainsaw. Her house’s roof was cut through and they were taken out of the house to safety as the whole family burst into tears.
“Those who saved us that day were Tran Dang Lam, Chief of our hamlet, Tran Dinh Duc and Tran Xuan Ngoc. We would have died without their help ,” shared Ly.
On October 15, half of Nguyen Thi Thanh’s house was covered with water but she and her children could not run out of it because her two youngest children were not strong enough to deal with the flood waters. When the house was nearly submerged, all their furniture was swept away as they started screaming out for help.
“We were in panic and did not know what to do. We could not even think of collecting our furniture. We just thought of how to survive. Lam, Danh, Duc and Ngoc rescued us. They were so brave and tried their best to ride two boats to save us although flood water was flowing very fast,” recalled Thanh.
Lam, the hamlet’s chief shared, “My house was also being submerged that day when we came to rescue locals. However, saving them was our priority. If we would not come timely, their lives might be lost. We would feel regret for the rest of our life if that happened.”
He continued, “Peoples homes here were built very well, this made it difficult for people to escape when their houses were flooded. We had to take a lot of effort to break the roofs. I did not know how we could do that so quickly by that time. We rode our boats as soon as possible when we heard any screams for help. We had to try to rescue them as quickly as we could so that we could have time to rescue other people. Although we got wet and did not have time to eat anything, we focused on the rescue.”
Lam and his team saved a total of about 30 people. He told us about Phan Dinh Tam, Chief of Police of the commune and his son. They saved about 120 people. Thanks to their effort and bravery, nobody in the village died.
“We don’t know how to thank them for what they had done for us,” said a local. “We tried to contact and find them but we could not. We heard that they came to other places to rescue people.”
On October 19, at Hamlet 10, Loc Yen Commune, Ngo Quang Thang found out Pham Quang Hiep was swept away and nearly drowned. Despite the danger, Thang swam into to the fast-flowing water to rescue Hiep. “I should help people if they are in need or in danger. It’s normal,” said Thang when people praised his bravery.
An old woman was unconscious on a boat and looked as if she were dead. Some people took off their clothes and dressed her, then brought her to the hospital. Two days later, she was able to recover.
An expecting mother was suffering from labour pains in her house, which was covered with water in Phu Phong Commune. People rode boats to help her give birth safely then took her and the newborn baby to the hospital while wind was blowing and heavy rain falling.
In Huong Khe during the flood season, stories about heroes are abundant. Many risked their lives to save others.
Sharing to get through
One couple, Cuu Viet Cuong and Nguyen Thi Ha, living in Hamlet 6, Loc Yen Commune, had nothing left after the flood, except a few dozen kilograms of rice which were wet and dirty with mud.
After washing the dirty rice, the couple shared their remaining wet rice with neighbours who were living on roofs, exhausted with no food. In such circumstances, the wet rice became even more precious than gold. They all ate the uncooked rice so that they could continue struggling to survive. “Normally, I could not eat uncooked rice like this but I was so hungry. I had something,” said Tuan, a 17-year-old boy.
When they were given noodles and fresh water, they shared with each other so that nobody would die of hunger. “This is the value of community. We live together and die together. Helping each other to deal with the natural disaster is the way we survive here,” shared Lam.
During the flood, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was filled with people gathering to run away from the flood. Some were lying on the road. Some were crying for losing their homes. Many were crying for hunger and coldness. People living in the town came to give them wood, clothes, food, blankets, etc...
The District’s Woman Union had appealed to women living in Huong Long, Phu Gia commune, to contribute over 1.5 tonnes of rice then cooked and sent it to people who were living in hunger on roofs.
These are just some of many stories about survival that have emerged from all the flooding.
Many people were exhausted and hopeless (Photo by Minh Ly)
Ly and her children were rescued at the last moment (Photo by Ba Hai)
Thanh and her children were terribly scared because their lives were hanging on the balance (Photo by Ba Hai)
Lam’s house was submerged, his furniture was swept away but saving people was his priority (Photo by Ba Hai)
“The flood hit our hamlet very quickly and our whole hamlet was screaming for help. If we did not save them timely, many would lose their lives,” recalled Lam (Photo by Ba Hai)
Despite the danger, Ngo Quang Thang had rescued his friend, Pham Quang Hiep (Photo by Ba Hai)
Major General Nguyen Van Hoc, Vice Commander of Military Zone No.4, commended Ngo Quang Thang for his bravery (Photo by Ba Hai)
Photo by Minh Chien
Soldiers tried to finish their noodles as soon as possible then rushed to continue saving people (Photo by Ba Hai)
Cuong and Ha shared their remaining wet rice with neighbours (Photo by Ba Hai)
Women from areas, which were not affected by the flood anymore were in a hurry to cook rice and send it to hungry people (Photo by Minh Chien)
Cooked rice was sent to those who were exhausted for not having food (Photo by Ba Hai)
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