Island of lights on stormy days

"Storm" isolates island of lights

Ten days have passed since storm No. 3 made landfall, but Mr. Nguyen Dang Linh, acting Station Chief of Ha Mai Lighthouse Management Station (Ngoc Vung Commune, Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province) is still busy with the station's workers cleaning up trees that were "knocked down" by storm Yagi.

The protective frame of Long Chau lighthouse was blown away by Typhoon Yagi .

Working on the island since 2018, this was the first time Mr. Linh had seen such a big storm. Lying right in the path of the storm's eye, Mr. Linh was shocked to witness the powerful devastation of the storm.

"We closed the door in the house, the wind was howling outside, trees were falling down, everyone was scared even though we had prepared carefully for the storm," he recalled.

As one of the islands furthest from the mainland in the Gulf of Tonkin, storm No. 3 swept through Ha Mai, making the already desolate small island even more desolate. A series of large trees were broken, blocking the only road from the foot of the mountain to the light station. Without a chainsaw, every day, the station workers laboriously used knives to cut down trees to "clear the way" down the mountain.

According to Mr. Linh, the station's fuel is at the foot of the mountain and every day, the brothers have to go down to carry fuel to run the generator and operate the lighthouse. After nearly 10 days of cleaning, they were able to temporarily go down the mountain.

However, the hardships and material losses were not what made him and his colleagues at the Ha Mai Lighthouse Management Station feel pain. The spirit of the "frontline" boys was shaken at times due to the loss of connection with their families. The storm that swept through Quang Ninh and Hai Phong caused many areas to be paralyzed by phone and internet signals.

They were most worried because they did not know what was going on at home and whether their loved ones were safe. "During the storm and the days after the storm, my sleep was always restless because I was worried about my family in Hanoi," the acting station chief confided.

Also comparing himself to a person who has been "blind to information" for the past few days, Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung, Head of Long Chau Lighthouse Management Station (Hai Phong) said that currently, the work to overcome the damage after storm No. 3 in the Long Chau island area is still continuing, and is expected to take a few more months to complete.

Long Chau Lighthouse Island suffered a lot of damage after Typhoon Yagi. Currently, the work to overcome the damage after the storm is still continuing.

The phone signal has not been restored yet, so in the past few days, he has spent several days searching for signals all over the island. Luckily, he was able to "save" some signal from Cat Ba Island so that he could contact his family after a week of being out of touch.

However, calls were constantly interrupted due to weak signals. Without 4G or internet, the lives of lighthouse keepers were isolated. Communication to shore was only via Hai Phong VHF waves.

Recalling the historic day when Typhoon Yagi brought winds that seemed to tear the atmosphere around the island apart, Mr. Hung could not help but shiver. Having worked on Long Chau Island for 20 years and having experience in storm prevention, he had never witnessed such a terrible storm.

The storm came, the howling wind and pouring rain tore off many solar panels on the top of the station's roof, causing them to fall like rain. A 5-cubic-meter water tank flew down to the yard. The lanterns on the light tower were also blown away.

"Hearing a loud "bang!" and the sound of falling glass, we were extremely confused. When the wind died down, we walked up to the lighthouse tower. Before our eyes was a scene of devastation with broken glass scattered along the stairs to the tower. Luckily, the lighthouse was still standing there, emitting rays of light across the sky despite the howling winds," said Mr. Hung.

In the fury of nature, the VNPT and VHF antenna masts also collapsed. In the group reporting the situation to the General Corporation, the last message Mr. Hung sent before the entire Long Chau network and signal went down was just a few words: "The station brothers are still safe."

Brave the storm, work all night to scan shipping lanes

Maritime safety forces work all night to survey and scan for obstacles on the Hon Gai - Cai Lan waterway (Quang Ninh).

Having just returned to the office after days of drifting at sea to scan for obstacles on the Hon Gai - Cai Lan waterway, Mr. Dong Duy Manh, Head of Planning - Planning and Organizing Surveys and Scanning of the Hon Gai, Cai Lan waterway (Northern Maritime Safety Corporation) is busy with calls from the scene about scanning the waterway and handling obstacles.

For the past 10 days, Mr. Manh has not had a single day of rest. Because right after the storm hit on September 7 and caused a lot of damage, the force doing the survey and scanning for obstacles on the shipping lane was immediately divided into teams to conduct surveys and scan the shipping lanes to avoid risks for ships.

On September 8, with 9 other brothers, Mr. Manh quickly grabbed survey equipment and immediately went to Quang Ninh to carry out the mission.

After the storm, the storm's circulation caused continuous thunderstorms, the sea surface was hazy, and the phone signal was unstable, becoming a big challenge for the maritime safety force. On the fragile boats like bamboo leaves in the middle of the ocean, full of trash and floating objects, the workers and engineers ensuring maritime safety had to increase vigilance, survey and scan for obstacles to report to the headquarters of the General Corporation to issue maritime notices.

Working from early morning to late at night, they only take turns to take a nap and then continue to complete the task as soon as possible, without affecting the general maritime activities of the area.

Admitting that he had never worked at such a high intensity, Mr. Manh recalled that for several days in a row, he and his team members could not even do personal activities because they had to constantly change ships because the ships often had problems due to too much waste.

"Every time we change ships, we only have time to bring protective gear, life jackets and scanning equipment. There is no time to go back to shore to buy food and drinks, so the only meals on board these days are instant noodles. The heavy rain hits our faces and makes our eyes sting, but we encourage each other to try because we know that many people are waiting for news and maritime announcements to have plans for maritime activities to resume soon," Manh confided.

For him, at that time, even though he had to take a nap in the cramped cabin, sitting huddled, the engine roaring in his ears, and working through the night in harsh, dangerous weather conditions, no one complained. Everyone had the same goal of completing the assigned task.

"After overcoming the peak period, everyone realized that they had discovered abilities they had never thought of. It takes a lot of courage and love for the job to be able to work at high intensity in a dangerous context in the middle of a dark, rainy night at sea, regardless of the risks that await," Manh confided.

As a result, the efforts of officers and workers ensuring maritime safety contributed to promptly overcoming post-storm incidents, bringing maritime activities in the area back to normal soon.

Meanwhile, as Head of the Disaster Prevention and Control Command of the Northern Maritime Safety Corporation, Deputy General Director Luu Van Khai admitted that it was "hard to put into words" the emotions of the days and nights spent with colleagues overcoming the damage after Typhoon Yagi.

The anxiety he felt during the storm and the confusion he felt when he lost contact with several light stations were probably things he would never forget. Confirming that his colleagues were safe made him breathe a sigh of relief.

According to Mr. Khai, the total damage to equipment and assets caused by storm No. 3 and the flood after the storm to the Corporation is estimated at about 16 billion VND.

In the context of the enterprise managing and operating the lighthouse system and public maritime routes with a length of 262,589km, overcoming damage after the storm and post-storm circulation encountered many difficulties due to rain, floods, rising sea levels and complex weather.

Some offshore shipping lanes and lighthouses make access to damage recovery difficult.

"Thanks to good preparation and readiness to respond to the storm according to the motto "4 on-site, 3 ready" and the solidarity of the staff and workers, we overcame all difficulties and hardships, promptly carried out tasks to fix problems with drifting buoys and out-of-service lights, surveyed and scanned obstacles on shipping routes, and promptly issued maritime notices to ensure maritime safety and security and prevent environmental pollution," Mr. Khai affirmed.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/dao-den-nhung-ngay-bao-noi-192240917201016379.htm