Lai Chau: Heavy damage after the rain

On the morning of May 15, we were at Ms. Hoang Thi Ngan's house - Cang Dang village (San Thang commune, Lai Chau city). Although the water had receded significantly, the water was still flowing rapidly, flooding the garden and trees. Due to the heavy rain, the water was so strong that the fence of Ms. Ngan's family completely collapsed. The 6,000m2 corn garden of Ms. Ngan's family collapsed and broke. The most heartbreaking image was the empty livestock barn. Everything was swept away by the water in just one night.

What remains after the rain of Ms. Hoang Thi Ngan's family.

When asked by reporters, Ms. Ngan seemed to burst into tears, sobbing: In just one night, my husband and I lost everything. At around 2am on May 15, my son woke up and went to the kitchen to find food, only to be shocked to discover that the house was completely flooded. When we heard our son's screams, my husband and I woke up and went down to check. At that time, the water had risen nearly 1m. My husband and I frantically beat our feet and hands, not knowing what to do. Because the water was big and flowing fast at that time. I went down directly and found that nearly 100 pigs (of which 40 weighed from 1.5 to 2 quintals) and 1,000 chickens had been swept away by the water.

It is known that Ms. Ngan and her husband moved here to live for more than 4 years, but this is the first time they have witnessed this scene. The family invested in the livestock barn just over 4 months ago with a total cost of more than 2 billion VND. Most of the capital was borrowed. Not only pigs and chickens, more than 5,000m2 of fish ponds raised for more than 4 years were also flooded. The scene of devastation, anyone who came to visit, encourage and support the family also felt heartbroken.

Faced with the stormy water, many areas of surrounding walls collapsed and water flooded into people's fields.

Next to Ms. Ngan's house is the wine production area and barns, trees of Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh's family - one of the famous wine production addresses 25 in Lai Chau. The heavy rain also caused significant damage to the family with hundreds of chickens and ducks, thousands of liters of wine swept away by the fierce water. Sharing with us, Ms. Thanh said: 5m of the surrounding wall collapsed, countless chickens and ducks. The most affected family is the wine cellar. This is our underground wine storage area. Due to the flood water flooding into the house, the floor was lifted up, causing 100 wine jars (each jar contains 150 - 250 liters of wine) to fall, break and tilt. The smell of wine wafted throughout the house and garden.

The underground wine cellar of Ms. Hoang Thi Thanh's family was submerged in floodwaters overnight.

It is known that San Thang is one of the most severely damaged localities with 5 landslides; nearly 2 hectares of broken fish ponds, 15 hectares of overflowing fish ponds; 15.8 hectares of corn crops, 2 hectares of rice fields affected; 255 cattle, 1,600 poultry died... Comrade Hoang Van Sinh - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee said: On the morning of May 15, we directed the commune's cadres and civil servants to go to the villages to count and support people to overcome the damage. The commune is continuing to review and mobilize forces to support families with major damage so that they can soon stabilize.

According to statistics, the rain on the night of May 14 and the early morning of May 15 did not cause any casualties, but many public and private properties in Lai Chau city were seriously damaged. Specifically, 50 households in the city had their houses flooded, their fences collapsed, and their slopes behind their houses collapsed. Many roads were partially flooded, dragging mud and soil; the fences of the Provincial Stadium, the Provincial Bus Station, and the Sports Training Center collapsed; 3 low-voltage electric poles fell. In addition, rural roads, drainage canals, and wastewater pipes were also eroded and swept away. Many areas of rice fields, fish ponds, livestock, and poultry with thousands of animals were crushed, killed, and swept away. According to initial statistics, the total estimated damage was over 14.8 billion VND.

Currently, Lai Chau city is mobilizing local forces to support people in temporarily moving their assets and accommodation to a safe place. At the same time, they are developing plans to repair damaged infrastructure works to report to the authorities for guidance and direction.

Under this sea of ​​water are all the fields and gardens that people have worked so hard to build.

In the rain on the night of April 14 and early morning of April 15, in addition to Lai Chau city, Tam Duong area was also affected, other areas have not recorded any damage. Accordingly, Tam Duong district had 1 collapsed house, 11 houses flooded; many crop areas were flooded, completely flooded and tons of fish were damaged. Lung Tru Ho Pen irrigation canal in Ta Leng commune and some internal roads were also buried by rocks and soil, concrete was eroded. The district's command board for natural disaster prevention and search and rescue has directed local authorities to mobilize local forces to coordinate with functional forces in the district to move assets and arrange temporary accommodation for affected households. Quickly repair and reinforce damaged houses, helping people to soon stabilize their lives.

According to the Lai Chau Provincial Hydrometeorological Station, heavy rains may continue in the coming days, especially in mountainous districts such as Muong Te, Nam Nhun, Phong Tho, Sin Ho, Tam Duong. There is a high risk of flash floods and landslides on hillsides, along streams and in low-lying residential areas. People are advised to closely monitor warning bulletins and proactively evacuate when required.

The collapsed fence at the provincial bus station has been urgently repaired by the authorities, creating favorable conditions for people to travel conveniently.

Faced with increasingly unusual natural disasters due to climate change, the requirement is to continue to improve forecasting capacity, provide timely warnings, improve flood drainage infrastructure, reinforce embankments, dams, and sewers in residential areas. At the same time, local authorities need to uphold their sense of responsibility in the "4 on-site" motto, promote the core role of militia, commune police, and grassroots disaster prevention and control teams to protect people's lives and property.
Climate change is a global challenge, but the most direct and severe impacts are on people in remote and mountainous areas where economic conditions are still difficult. Proactive prevention, response and recovery from natural disasters is not only a requirement for people's livelihood but also a political responsibility of the entire system, from local Party committees and authorities to each cadre and party member, to minimize damage caused by natural disasters.

Source: https://baolaichau.vn/xa-hoi/lai-chau-thiet-hai-nang-ne-sau-tran-mua-998715