Unprecedented flooding in Thai Nguyen: 24 hours without sleep, all night to save people

Amidst the historic flood in Thai Nguyen, there were 24-hour relief teams that did not sleep, with only one inflatable boat, navigating through small roads to transport food and even corpses to rescue and support people amidst the waves.

A man uses an electric wire to pull food supplies up to his house - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

Right next to the deeply flooded area in the center of Thai Nguyen city, army and police forces and dozens of volunteer groups are rushing to transport food to rescue people in the most deeply flooded areas in Thai Nguyen province.

On the evening of October 8, monk Thich Giac An (Van Son Pagoda, Tam Dao, Phu Tho ) strained his eyes to steer the inflatable boat as it groped its way through the small streets of Thai Nguyen that were deeply submerged in floodwater. On the small boat were boxes of lunch, bottles of water, and dry goods to help the people.

At 8pm, the center of Thai Nguyen city was plunged into darkness, with only faint yellow halos from candles and electric lamps on both sides of the street.

People holding candles and turning on their phone lights waiting for food supplies from volunteer groups - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

A girl receives food from the relief group - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

Arriving at residential areas, the boat moved slowly, the group members started shouting loudly: "Who needs food and water?". Immediately on both sides of the road, the echoes of people waiting for rice echoed "yes, yes, yes"...

Upon hearing the news of rising floodwaters in Thai Nguyen, Master Giac An and his fellow members of the "servant" group who were providing relief in Ha Giang immediately began moving to Thai Nguyen. By the afternoon of October 7, the group members had reached the scene. They contacted local pagodas and local Buddhists to find the fastest way to support the people.

"All last night and night, the water flowed strongly and rose high, we used inflatable boats to move to flooded areas to supply food to people, as well as transport victims to emergency rooms. However, at 4am, the water flowed strongly, accompanied by rain in the dark night, everyone had to climb onto the roof to rest. It was not until 6am that we started work again and it has lasted until now" - monk Thich Giac An shared.

Master Giac An steered the inflatable boat all night to help flood victims in Thai Nguyen city - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

Even though they didn't sleep, the rescue atmosphere of the team members was still very urgent, the inflatable boat was working at full capacity with patches all over its body.

All the food was gathered in a dry area, when the yellow boat "docked", immediately another group was tasked with transporting the food onto the boat. The operation only lasted about 20 minutes, and the boat started its engine again and headed to the flooded areas, where thousands of people were starving, waiting for each lunch box and bottle of water.

The members of the relief team met each other by "fate", each in a different place, when seeing people in distress, they found each other and began their journey to save people.

Nguyen Anh Tu, a former soldier, is one of the most experienced rescue team members. With the eyes of a soldier, he always observes and proposes the most practical and suitable rescue plans.

"At 7am yesterday (October 7), the floodwaters rose suddenly. I went to Ben Tuong bridge to help people move their belongings and vehicles to avoid the flood. In the afternoon, when I met Mr. Giac An, we joined with some local brothers to gather together to transport food to rescue people. In addition to food, sometimes the group also transported dead bodies from heavily flooded areas," said Mr. Tu.

Nguyen Anh Tu is checking messages needing help to proactively move to rescue people - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

During the two days of relief work, the group delivered countless shipments of lunch boxes, water bottles, and cakes to the flood victims. They had not slept all night but were still full of energy. On one shipment, in the middle of the vast water, I asked, "Are you tired?" They just smiled and said, "Rescuing people is never tiring."

By the afternoon of October 8, the central area of ​​Thai Nguyen city was still submerged in water - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

On the main roads of Thai Nguyen city, boats and canoes move continuously to provide relief to people - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

A traffic sign surrounded by floodwaters - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

Many relief groups from northern provinces brought food to Thai Nguyen to support people - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

A woman was transported by a volunteer group from the flood center to the emergency room - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

At 8 p.m., the center of Thai Nguyen city was plunged into darkness, with only faint yellow halos from candles and electric lamps on both sides of the street - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

A "rescue needed" sign dropped by a local resident to let the volunteer group know to rescue emergency food - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

Taking advantage of some areas where the water was not deep, people moved to receive relief supplies from the volunteer group - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

In the middle of the water, a man drags a styrofoam box containing food home - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

An old man swam to the gate to receive food and water from the relief team - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

Despite the danger, a girl climbed onto the roof to receive lunch boxes from a volunteer group - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

The relief team threw water bottles towards a family in need of help - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

Many places are flooded with garbage, making it difficult for the volunteer group to access support - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

In addition to Mr. Giac An's relief group, there are many other organizations and volunteer groups also working to support people in flooded areas - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

A mother holding her child is moved by volunteer groups from a flooded area - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

Hoang Van Thu Street (Thai Nguyen) is deeply flooded, volunteer groups move continuously to bring rice and food to people - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

Soldiers of Military Region 1 use large boats to transport food and provisions to people - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

A man happily clings to a pole as he prepares to be taken onto a boat by the rescue team - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

At 9 p.m. on October 8, many areas in the center of Thai Nguyen city were still deeply flooded, some places nearly 3 meters deep. In the photo, a group of volunteers is taking a resident onto a boat - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

A traffic sign submerged in water - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

Another relief group immersed themselves in the water carrying food boats to supply people - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

At some high points that were not flooded, food and clean water were gathered to be distributed to relief groups to rescue people - Photo: NGUYEN KHÁNH

NGUYEN KHANH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lu-lut-chua-tung-co-tai-thai-nguyen-24-gio-khong-ngu-trang-dem-cuu-nguoi-20251009075358827.htm