(E-Magazine) Together we overcome floods, rebuild peace - Part 2: Overcoming floods to save people

Since the evening of November 19, heavy rains have continued to pour down on Phu Yen ward. After only a few hours, many roads have turned into torrents of water, and areas such as Phu Nong, Phuoc Binh Bac, and Phuoc Binh Nam have been heavily flooded and completely isolated. About 1,500 houses were flooded, some up to a meter deep, and property could not be moved in time.

The ward's Command Center for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue was brightly lit through the darkness of the rain and wind, the phone rang continuously. Lieutenant Colonel Do Ngoc Quy, Chief of the ward's Police, held the phone in one hand and scribbled down information in a notebook that was wet with rain. Each call was an emergency, a family trapped, a life waiting to be saved.

On social networks, distress statuses are being shared at a dizzying pace: “The water is up to the roof, the elderly grandparents are too weak to contact…”; “The child is so cold, the whole family is shivering on the roof…”

All of this information was received and responded to immediately by the rescue team. Motorboats were dispatched to approach each house, despite the raging water currents.

Nguyen Ngoc Minh, the rescue boat driver, recalled: “The water was flowing very fast. The immense water submerged everything. The boat was pushed into electric poles, tangled in electric wires, treetops, and had its propeller broken. Some capsized, and we had to swim together to continue our mission.”

Despite the danger, the forces still split into groups, heading towards the deepest flooded areas. Two pregnant women were brought safely to the hospital. Two elderly people were carried across the raging waters to the ward People's Committee headquarters for shelter. Each successful rescue was a moment of joy.

In Hoa Xuan commune, the military had to use special vehicles and motorboats to reach Phu Khue 1 village. Mrs. Dang Thi Du, who was holding her baby and shivering because she had been soaked in cold water for many hours, choked up when she was brought onto the boat and said: “The water rose so fast that my children and I had to break the corrugated iron roof to climb onto the roof. Looking around, we could only see vast water and strong winds that stung our faces. When I saw the military driving the motorboats, I was both happy and scared…” In the life-and-death moments, the hope of her and many other people was kept alive by the bravery of the rescue team.

Faced with the situation of rising floodwaters, submerging and isolating many residential areas, Dak Lak Provincial Police immediately issued a general mobilization order throughout the unit. Hundreds of officers and soldiers along with dozens of large-capacity canoes were urgently mobilized, divided into many spearheads, crossing deep, fast-flowing water sections to reach each isolated residential area. The highest goal is to organize a search and rescue for each person in danger.

At the deepest and most dangerous flooded areas such as Hoa Thinh, Hoa My, Phu Hoa 1 and Phu Hoa 2, the battle against the floodwaters was extremely fierce. The police of the three communes of Duc Binh, Song Hinh and Son Thanh urgently established a joint task force, using canoes and specialized equipment to respond. In the midst of the raging water, the soldiers had to use safety ropes, connect their formations, carefully wade through the water, and sneak into each deep alley.

With courage, the police force approached each house, prioritizing the elderly, children and pregnant women to get on the canoe to safety first. In parallel with the evacuation, the rescue force also promptly provided emergency supplies, transported clothes, dry food, instant noodles and clean water to households that had not yet left, ensuring that people had enough health to overcome the disaster.

In Tuy Hoa, Binh Kien and Hoa Hiep wards, the rescue work received great support. The police force coordinated with the sports inflatable boat team from Da Nang City and volunteer teams from many other provinces and cities. Even the local fishermen's boats and basket boats were mobilized to organize rescue operations throughout the night.

The fight against the devastation caused by natural disasters has been relentless. The officers and soldiers of the Dak Lak Provincial Military Command, along with reinforcements from Military Region 5, were urgently ordered to divide into many groups to approach the most severely flooded areas. The dual objectives were set: to supply food and essential necessities to relieve hunger and cold for the people and to urgently evacuate people, especially the elderly, children and the sick, to safety.

The terrain in the flooded communes is extremely complicated at this time. Many roads have turned into rivers, with water flowing rapidly and swirling. Military Region 5 decided to quickly mobilize forces, along with 3 specialized armored vehicles to support Dak Lak province. The special vehicles have transported more than 3,000 essential gifts to people in deep flooded areas, helping them overcome the days of hunger and cold. Sergeant Pham Ngoc Luc, a young soldier of the Dak Lak Provincial Military Command, said: "We have to bring people to safety, ensuring that each package reaches the people as quickly as possible."

Not only the local forces, but also the police and soldiers from many provinces and cities urgently reinforced their efforts to Dak Lak, coordinating to rescue people amid the days of heavy rain and floods. Lam Dong Provincial Police mobilized officers, soldiers and three specialized canoes from the Waterway Traffic Police Team No. 2 to coordinate with local authorities in deeply flooded and isolated areas in Dak Lak province, to carry out rescue and bring people to safety. The team's canoes wading in the rushing water brought 25 households, with 72 people, away from the danger zone to safety. At the same time, the rescue force continued to transport essential supplies to isolated households, ensuring that no one went hungry or was left behind during the days of rising floods.

At the same time, amidst the turbulent water, rescue teams of Quang Ngai Provincial Police deployed canoes, urgently approaching each isolated point to bring people out of the danger zone. Major Nguyen Tan Dat, Traffic Police Department of Quang Ngai Provincial Police, said that the Provincial Police deployed many rescue teams in deeply flooded areas of Dak Lak province in a state of many isolated points and continuously recorded people calling for help. Rescue forces of Quang Ngai Provincial Police are making efforts to open the way, continuously provide supplies and maintain support for people. We wish to contribute to sharing the difficulties with people in flooded areas, helping people to soon stabilize their lives.

During the days when floodwaters in the eastern localities of Dak Lak rose so high that they seemed to swallow up entire villages, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dinh Trung, Road Traffic Police Team No. 4, Traffic Police Department of the Provincial Police, became a support for hundreds of stranded people. Amidst the murky rapids, he continuously drove his canoe through deep flooded sections and dangerous intersections to reach isolated areas. In just a few days, he and his teammates promptly brought about 400 people to safety - from the elderly, children to patients who needed urgent hospital transfer.

Each trip is a “race against the flood”, where the slightest mistake can cost lives. But on the sunburnt faces of those rescue soldiers, there is absolutely no hesitation. They work almost non-stop, drenched from morning to night, with only one simple but sacred wish: No one is left behind. In the midst of danger, the sense of responsibility and bravery of soldiers like Lieutenant Colonel Trung has become a warm light in the cold flood.

Among the heroic faces on the day of the flood, Mr. Pham Van Nin, Director of Minh Duy Phu Yen Company Limited, became a familiar image at most hot spots where timely presence was needed to save people. As soon as the water level began to rise, Mr. Nin mobilized all of the company's vehicles - from canoes, large trucks to support equipment - to participate in the rescue. Sometimes, he directly drove the canoe into isolated residential areas, where only tin roofs could be seen dimly amid the gray water. Sometimes, he alone drove a large truck across roads that had turned into rivers, bringing rescue forces closer to areas in need of urgent evacuation. He was present wherever a distress call had just been sent out.

During a rescue mission in the midst of rapidly rising water, Mr. Nin received news that a pregnant woman was trapped and showing signs of labor. Without waiting for additional support, he immediately took the canoe to the dangerous area, then personally carried the pregnant woman to the boat in the rushing water. Just a few minutes after being brought to the medical facility, the woman was safe. Both mother and fetus were safe thanks to their courage and determination in the moment of life and death.

At noon on November 19, the rain began to pour heavily. Floodwaters poured down from somewhere, submerging 12/23 neighborhoods of Binh Kien ward in a sea of water, paralyzing traffic, and isolating hundreds of households. Social networks began to be flooded with information calling for help from trapped people. Hasty messages with GPS locations, photos taken from the attic surrounded by water. A family sent a message: "The house is flooded up to the windows, there are small children, please help" to the neighborhood's zalo group, then lost signal.

As soon as he received the distress call, Mr. Nguyen Minh Han, Party cell secretary and head of Long Thuy ward immediately mobilized 12 people who were familiar with the river, brought small boats and basket boats to rush into deeply flooded areas such as Tuong Quang, Quan Quang, Minh Duc, Ngoc Phong, Tho Vuc . In the rushing water, the group of 12 people coordinated with the local police and militia to wade for two consecutive days. From morning to night, then from evening to late night, they approached each house one by one, bringing people out of danger.

“There were trips where we had to return many times in the dark to look for stranded people. Sometimes the waves were strong and the boat rocked, but we were determined not to miss anyone,” recalled Mr. Tran Van Luan, who directly steered many rescue trips.

After two days of continuous rotation in the flooded area, the team was able to bring about 300 people to safety. But the mission did not stop there. When all the people had been evacuated, the rescue team continued to take on the task of bringing instant noodles, drinking water, and medicine to the deeply flooded areas, ensuring that no one went hungry and no family was left behind. Mr. Luan confided: “We are people of the sea, everyone is familiar with operating a basket boat. When the local authorities called, we set off immediately. At that time, we only thought about how to get as many people out of the danger zone as possible.”

In recognition of the bravery and sense of responsibility of the volunteer rescue force, the People's Committee of Binh Kien Ward has unexpectedly awarded 11 individuals with outstanding achievements. Mr. Tran Van Luan - who is considered the commander of the rescue team - was recommended by the locality to the People's Committee of Dak Lak province to receive a certificate of merit. Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Kien Ward Nguyen Quoc Thang said that the ward is completing a plan to establish a rescue shock team with a core force of 12 individuals who participated in rescuing people in this flood. "The team will be a quick response force when there is a natural disaster, and we call on union members and youth to join to be more proactive in responding to storms and floods," said Mr. Thang.

Every act of saving lives is a bridge of hope, a reminder that no one is left behind. In the midst of the vast sea of water, the bravery and kindness of the rescue forces, officers and people become a guiding light, igniting the belief that no matter how severe the natural disaster, people will always stand shoulder to shoulder to preserve life and peace.