Bac Ninh: Supporting people in flood-affected areas

BAC NINH - The rain has stopped, the sun has come out but the floodwaters are still rising, many areas along the Cau and Thuong rivers are isolated by floodwaters. Due to the impact of storm No. 11, as of October 8, thousands of households and their properties and structures in Bac Ninh province are still submerged in floodwaters. Amidst the separation of the immense water, the solidarity of the people shines again, giving people the strength to confidently overcome this difficult time.

Efforts to move people to safety

Faced with the situation of deeply flooded houses, alleys turned into small rivers... one can always see the yellow and blue shirts of police, soldiers, militia, youth union members and volunteers on duty day and night, helping people evacuate, transport necessities, reinforce, build sack ramparts to raise flood protection for dykes with the highest goal of protecting people's lives and property.

Officers and soldiers of Regiment 831, Provincial Military Command, evacuated people in Bo Ha commune.

“Rung Dai - Yen The: My place is about to be flooded, there are elderly people, children and disabled people in my house... please help me!” - the cry for help posted hastily on social media amid rising floodwaters on the afternoon of October 7 was quickly responded to. Just a few minutes after receiving the news, the Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Police (Provincial Police) coordinated with the military and local authorities to cross the rushing water to reach the place where people were in distress. In the heavy rain, the flickering flashlights, the arms connecting in the water, the loudspeaker calling for people erased the separation. The solidarity of the soldiers and the people helped 11 people, including the elderly, the disabled and three children, to be rescued and brought to a safe area... In the pouring rain, the good news sent from Rung Dai village made everyone who heard it choke up.

As of 5:00 p.m. on October 8, key areas in the province were basically stable; in the dike overflow area of ​​Tien Luc commune, forces continued to support people in moving people and property to safety; in Dong Ky commune, rescue forces continued to evacuate 20 households in Gieng Chanh village to safety...

On the evening of October 7, in Hop Thinh commune, the rising water level of Cau River threatened hundreds of households, and local authorities quickly deployed an evacuation plan. By 9 p.m., all elderly people, children, pregnant women, and people with disabilities were moved out of the flooded area; essential items and pets were brought to higher ground; and schools were requisitioned as temporary shelters. Mr. Ngo Van Cu, 65 years old, who had difficulty walking, was carried out of his house in the midst of the flood by the authorities and his relatives. In the brightly lit classroom, he choked up: "The officials took care of every meal and sleep, and gave instructions like family. The love in the flood is more precious than anything."

Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said that in the area where people temporarily reside, the commune provides necessities, arranges kindergarten teachers to cook, and arranges places for people to eat and sleep. For households in flooded areas, the commune promotes the need to reserve food for a week. The locality arranges forces to be on duty 24/24 hours, regularly collects information, ensures food and food for people, and does not let any case lack food and drinking water.

Tien Luc commune has 16 km of dike along the Thuong river. From the night of October 7 to the early morning of October 8, the river water rose rapidly, flooding many villages. Immediately, thousands of people were mobilized for emergency evacuation. Headlights from mobile vehicles shone on the water surface, people called to each other, and the footsteps of the authorities resounded continuously... Throughout the night, more than 200 soldiers from Regiment 2, Division 3 (Military Region 1) along with nearly 100 police officers, commune officials and people divided into groups, taking turns going to the roofs of houses where people were still living, using boats, fixed ropes, or stretching buoys to bring the elderly, children and essential luggage to safety.

Chairman of Tien Luc Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Long said: Since the night of October 7, heavy rain combined with floods from upstream caused many dikes to overflow and be flooded locally. Early in the morning of October 8, a 20-meter-long dike broke, but the authorities quickly handled the situation and basically completed the repair. The commune has evacuated more than 500 households from dangerous areas. Before the sun rose, hundreds of households had reached safety.

Strengthening the dike to prevent floods

Another urgent task is to maintain the dike and block the water. In Phuc Hoa commune, when a section of the right dike on Thuong River was discovered to be overflowing and eroding, hundreds of cadres, militiamen and people quickly moved soil and sandbags to cover the dike. The rain continued to pour down, everyone was soaked, but no one left their positions. Some soldiers had bleeding hands from holding shovels for too long, but they just smiled: "As long as the dike doesn't break, it's fine."

Officers, soldiers of Artillery Brigade 675 and people build a dike to prevent overflow in Hop Thinh commune. Photo: Trinh Lan.

In Kinh Bac ward, the Cau River flood rose above alert level 3, threatening the Dau Han dike that is protecting nearly 400 households. From the night of October 7 to noon of October 8, hundreds of police and military officers and soldiers, along with the people, worked through the night to build sandbags and raise the flood protection level. The sound of excavators mixed with people calling to each other, and headlights shone on the heavy sandbags. In the middle of the silver water, muddy shoes still walked tirelessly, forming a long line on the dike to form a human wall against the floodwaters.

Not only in Phuc Hoa commune or Kinh Bac ward, officers and soldiers of military, police and militia units were also mobilized to take turns on guard duty, ready to respond promptly when there are unusual developments on dikes, vulnerable points, and deep flooding.

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, on the left dike of Thuong Duong Duc, section K2+600 ÷ K2+627, the incident of dike slope collapse on the river side is continuing to be handled and filled to restore the landslide. On the right dike of Thuong, there are 2 locations of dike overflow incidents and 1 location of dike slope collapse on the field side. On the right dike of Cau, some locations of dike slope seepage and leakage are being monitored by authorities and localities. The incident of subsidence of Nhu Nguyet embankment at K30+700 and dike slope erosion at K37+700 on the river side were temporarily handled by the People's Committees of Tam Giang and Yen Trung communes from the first hour. Some dike routes with landslides and dike surface overflow were also promptly handled...

Humanity in the flood

Bac Ninh is one of the four provinces at the epicenter of widespread rain and flooding caused by storm No. 11. Over the past 24 hours, the work of supporting the evacuation of people has been urgently carried out by authorities at all levels and functional forces. In difficult times, the spirit of compatriots shines brighter.

Youth Union members of Hop Thinh commune prepare free meals to serve people affected by floods.

At evacuation sites, the smell of hot rice and food spread through classrooms used as temporary shelters. Thousands of meals, drinks, warm clothes, and medicines were promptly delivered by organizations and benefactors. In Tam Giang, the commune mobilized forces to prepare nearly 150 free meals each day for people in flooded areas. The Women's Union of Xuan Cam commune organized the cooking of hundreds of meals for rescue forces.

Tan Soi village (Yen The commune) has 165 households with nearly 600 people. In recent days, the floodwaters have risen, although all the elderly and children have moved to a safe place, but currently in the village there are still nearly 40 households with more than 100 people isolated and lacking in all aspects. In order to help local people reduce difficulties, the Provincial Labor Federation mobilized businesses to donate hundreds of barrels of drinking water, dry food and instant noodles to help people in the village overcome the disaster.

The storm was like a test of people's hearts. In the pouring rain, we could still see boats loaded with food, life jackets and the steadfast eyes of soldiers and people. In the middle of the sea, they were "living lights" lighting up faith. The rain and floods will pass, but human love will last forever. Although there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead, the spirit of mutual love, mutual support and mutual assistance in times of hardship and adversity is a valuable source of energy to help people overcome all challenges so that life can quickly return to stability.

Thai Uyen - Duong Hoan

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/bac-ninh-tiep-suc-cho-nguoi-dan-vung-lu-postid428420.bbg