Storm destroys hundreds of fishing boats, fishermen lose their livelihood

Storm No. 13 swept through the Vung Chao sea area, causing severe damage to hundreds of fishing boats. Authorities and fishermen are urgently working to restore their boats to operation.

Storm No. 13 swept along the coast of Vung Chao, Song Cau Ward (Dak Lak), leaving behind an unbelievable scene of devastation. Along nearly 1 km of beach, hundreds of boats, basket boats and fishing boats of all sizes lay haphazardly, piled on top of each other. The means of transport, which were considered the greatest accumulated assets of fishermen, now only have fragments and large wooden hulls torn apart by the waves.

Boats in Vung Chao were destroyed after storm No. 13. Photo: Tuan Anh.

Before the storm hit, despite having anchored in a safe place to avoid the storm, hundreds of boats were still unable to withstand the strong winds on the evening of November 6. Large waves crashed in, continuously tossing boats onto the shore, pushing large boats onto small boats, causing widespread damage.

The next day, according to the Agriculture and Environment Newspaper reporter at Vung Chao beach, many groups of fishermen gathered around damaged boats, taking advantage of every hour to repair them. Some reinforced the bows, others repaired the machinery.

Under the scorching sun, people worked together to pull each vehicle out of the wreckage, salvaging any usable parts. Fishermen tried to repair their boats as soon as possible to quickly return to earning a living after the heavy damage.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh's 100 million VND boat was smashed by waves. Photo: Tuan Anh.

Standing silently watching the ship worth about 100 million VND being broken by the waves, Mr. Nguyen Thanh (a fisherman in Phu My village, Song Cau ward) said that this was his family's only means of staying at sea and supporting his 3 children's education. Before that, the family had anchored the ship according to many years of experience, but high tides combined with strong winds at night caused the ship to break apart. "Now that we have lost our fishing rod, my family doesn't know what to use to go to sea anymore," Mr. Thanh said.

Not only Mr. Thanh, many fishing households along the coast of Vung Chao also fell into the same situation. After the storm, they tried to collect the usable parts to fix and repair temporarily, hoping to return to making a living soon.

Mr. Nguyen Van Son (a fisherman in Song Cau ward) said: “Most of the fishing boats that were washed ashore by the waves were severely damaged, many were broken in half. Some boats were so damaged that the owners had to abandon their vessels because they could no longer repair them.”

Fishermen struggle through the rubble, searching and making use of what remains. Photo: Tuan Anh.

At Vung Chao beach area, many large capacity ships anchored to avoid the storm were also pushed ashore by large waves. Many ship owners stood there in shock watching their ships being smashed and heavily damaged.

Faced with the above situation, the forces of Military Region 5 were present at the scene, coordinating with the police and militia to assist fishermen in removing the stranded vehicles from the wreckage. Many fishing boats in the area were also mobilized to participate in pulling the boats that were sunk or stranded by the waves, in order to reduce damage and help people recover their jobs and stick to the sea.

According to initial statistics from the People's Committee of Song Cau Ward, hundreds of boats, ships and coracles were washed away by waves, sunk or severely damaged. The local government said it would quickly compile a list of the damage and coordinate with relevant units to take measures to support fishermen to soon stabilize production and restore fishing activities after the storm.

According to statistics, hundreds of boats were severely damaged. Photo: Tuan Anh.

Mr. Vo Ngoc Thach, Chairman of Song Cau Ward People's Committee, said that as soon as the information about damaged boats was received, the authorities were present to support fishermen in repairing them. The heavily damaged boats were brought to the workshop by local excavators and cranes. The lightly damaged boats were helped to be brought ashore for people to repair themselves. After 2 days of repair, most of the lightly damaged boats were back in operation.

Mr. Thach added that Vung Chao wharf is under the management of the province, the ward is only responsible for anchoring. The locality is waiting for the province's direction to count the damage and develop a plan to support fishermen.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/bao-quat-hang-tram-tau-ca-tan-nat-ngu-dan-mat-ke-sinh-nhai-d783202.html