Plea from the flood zone: Irrigation system 'devastated'

After the flood receded, many irrigation works in the east of Gia Lai were exposed to damage and needed urgent repairs to serve the 2025-2026 winter-spring crop production.

Night of Horror

The recent storm has seriously damaged a series of irrigation works in the east of Gia Lai , from medium and large works managed by Binh Dinh Irrigation Works Exploitation Company to small works managed by localities, but what caused the greatest terror for the people were the dike breaches.

In Tuy Phuoc commune alone (Gia Lai), 3 sections of the dike were broken in the recent flood. The most threatening incident was the break of the Ha Thanh river dike in Luat Le village, creating a terrifying night for thousands of households in Luat Le, Van Hoi 1 and Van Hoi 2 villages (Tuy Phuoc commune).

Tuy Phuoc Commune is reinforcing the Luat Le dike. Photo: V.D.T.

The family of Mr. Le Kim Hieu (born in 1967) in Van Hoi 1 village (house located next to the Luat Le dike that broke in the early morning of November 20) had an "unforgettable" night with a fierce flood suddenly rushing into the residential area of ​​Van Hoi 1 village, when people were still sleepy after a nearly sleepless night.

The incident happened 5 days ago, but on the morning of November 25, when recounting the night the dike broke, Mr. Hieu's face still looked panicked: Floodwaters on the Ha Thanh River overflowed the Luat Le dike at 4am on November 20, and at 6am the dike broke, and the river water rushed into the residential area with a ferocious sound that was terrifying to hear.

70 officers and soldiers of Artillery Brigade 573 (Military Region 5) helped the locality reinforce the Luat Le dike. Photo: V.D.T.

“In the blink of an eye, my house was submerged in head-high water. Luckily, I had moved all my belongings to the mezzanine so nothing was damaged. But my neighbor did not have time to move and all the belongings in the house were swept away by the flood,” said Mr. Hieu.

Mr. Hieu added: In Van Hoi 1 village, it is not uncommon for families to lose all their belongings because of their negligence. Many people see the dyke as so sturdy that they think it will never break, so they are indifferent to the warnings of the local authorities.

Mr. Le Kim Hieu (born in 1967) in Van Hoi 1 village (Tuy Phuoc commune) pointed out the water level in his house, almost up to his head, when the Luat Le dike broke. Photo: V.D.T.

Ms. Ha Thi Kim Nga (Mr. Hieu's wife) added: "In 2010, the government built this dike. The flood in 2013 was also terrible, but the water was still 60cm away from overflowing the banks. This year, the flood was so fierce that the dike could not hold."

The residential area of ​​Van Hoi 2 village is located near Dieu Tri train station, several kilometers away from the broken dike, but water still entered houses from half a meter or more, submerged machinery and equipment were damaged; many grocery stores could not clean up their goods in time after the flood and had to carry a truckload of wet goods to dump, causing untold damage.

Tuy Phuoc Commune is making efforts to reinforce the Cat River dike. Photo: V.D.T.

Mr. Trinh Van Dong, an expert of the Economic Department of Tuy Phuoc Commune People's Committee, said: "Immediately after the flood receded, with the help of 70 officers and soldiers of the 573rd Artillery - Air Defense Brigade (Military Region 5), we used excavators to reinforce the broken dike section, and outside we tied sandbags so that if the Ha Thanh River water continued to rise, it would not overflow the dike.

Luat Le dike was broken for 100m, but both sides of the broken dike section were also dilapidated, the structure was no longer strong so it needed to be reinforced. The commune has reported and the provincial leaders have come to inspect many times to have a plan to firmly repair it.

Canals, dams and lakes devastated

The Cat River flood dike (a branch of the Ha Thanh River) located below the breach of the Luat Le dike also suffered the same fate. Although the breach of the Cat River dike was only 50m long, the floodwaters swirled 2-3m deep, so the water flooded into the residential area even more fiercely. Here, on the morning of November 25, 35 officers and soldiers of the 573rd Artillery - Air Defense Brigade and an excavator were also trying to reinforce the breach.

Mr. Huynh Van Nghe in Luat Le village recalls the scene of floodwaters overflowing when the Luat Le dike and the Cat river dike broke. Photo: V.D.T.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Nguyet (42 years old) in team 3, Luat Le village (Tuy Phuoc commune) whose house is located between two broken dikes, recounted the night the floodwaters came with a face still full of horror: "The Luat Le dike broke first, then the Cat river dike broke. This residential area is located between two broken dikes, so the floodwaters rushed in incredibly fast. In just a moment, the water rose to the ceiling.

My house and my grandfather's house next door do not have a mezzanine, so all the rice stored for eating was flooded. Luckily, people had evacuated in advance. After the flood receded, I poured the rice out on the floor to dry by fan for 2 days. Now that the sun has come out, I asked my neighbor's yard to pour it out to dry. However, it still could not be saved because the rice had all cracked. A bag of rice that normally sells for 400,000 VND now sells for only 80,000 VND to duck farmers.

Channel N2-3 of Nui Mot Lake was completely broken, and was temporarily repaired on the afternoon of November 25. Photo: V.D.T.

In Phong Tan village (Tuy Phuoc commune), Bo Nhi dike was also broken in the recent flood. This dike section is located in the middle of a field so it does not threaten residential areas, only causing sedimentation and water to destroy the rice fields of local people.

Key projects such as reservoirs, dams and main canals managed by Binh Dinh Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited could not escape the "scythe" of the "water god" in this flood.

The Nui Mot reservoir located in An Nhon Tay commune, although having been renovated and repaired many times, was also affected by landslides downstream during this flood. The most "pitiful" thing is that the Ha Thanh river dams, which were inaugurated in April 2024 with the function of supplementing domestic water for tens of thousands of people, could not "withstand" the fierce floodwaters, all three dams had their downstream embankments collapsed.

Bay Yen Dam in Binh Dinh Ward also had its right shoulder downstream collapsed. Hon Lap Lake in Vinh Thinh Commune had its upstream rock slope peeled off and eroded. Notably, Dong Mit Lake in An Vinh Commune, the last large irrigation project built in the east of Gia Lai, which was inaugurated in early February 2023, also had its rock gabion on the left shoulder downstream of the spillway collapse during this flood.

The embankment of the Ha Thanh River dam in Van Canh commune had its downstream embankment roof eroded. Photo: V.D.T.

As for canals, the damage was countless, because most of them were located in the middle of the fields, directly bearing the brunt of the flood. Canal N2-3 of Nui Mot Lake suffered serious landslides, of which a section was completely eroded; the main canal of Nui Mot Lake also suffered landslides and silting; the main canal of Vinh Thanh at Km10+313m also collapsed; canal N1-3-4 of Thuan Ninh Lake in Binh Hiep commune also collapsed; the main canal of Van Phong dam passing through the communes of Binh An, Binh Hiep, Hoa Hoi, Phu Cat, Xuan An was also in a similar situation...

There are many more, too many to mention. Not to mention many canals are still submerged in flood, when the flood recedes, many other damages will be revealed.

The Van Phong dam canal passing through Phu Cat commune was damaged after the flood. Photo: V.D.T.

According to Mr. Do Nguyen Si, Director of Binh Dinh Irrigation Works Exploitation Company Limited, currently, many works and canals are still submerged in water so it is not possible to check and fully count the total damage, however, the estimated damage has reached 20 billion VND. The company will continue to monitor and check as soon as the water recedes to report additional details of each work.

“The company has made a preliminary report on the damage caused by floods to the Department of Agriculture and Environment and the Department of Finance of Gia Lai, requesting that the departments consider and submit to the Provincial People's Committee for financial support so that the company can promptly repair the damage in time to serve the upcoming winter-spring crop production of 2025-2026,” Mr. Do Nguyen Si shared.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/loi-khan-cau-tu-vung-lu-he-thong-thuy-loi-bi-bam-nat-d786536.html