Floods submerge Gia Lai, more than 10,200 houses submerged

Gia Lai Heavy rain and widespread flooding in Gia Lai has caused many communes and wards to be deeply inundated and have landslides, forcing thousands of households to evacuate, and causing damage to agricultural production.

According to the latest report of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, from November 18 to 19, Gia Lai province experienced moderate to heavy rain, with some places experiencing very heavy rain, accompanied by thunderstorms, causing many areas to be deeply flooded, causing landslides and traffic disruption. The water levels of the Ha Thanh, Kon, Ba and An Lao rivers are at alert levels 2-3 and are forecast to continue to rise.

Floods have submerged Gia Lai. Photo: Tuan Anh.

It is forecasted that from today (November 19) to the morning of November 20, heavy rains will continue to cover the entire province with very high intensity. This means that the risk of widespread flooding, even deep flooding, may continue to occur in many residential areas and along rivers and streams.

According to the preliminary report, as of the morning of November 19, more than 10,200 households in the province had their houses flooded, many roads were cut off and landslides occurred, disrupting travel and agricultural product transportation. Localities are continuing to make temporary repairs to ensure people's safety and protect crops.

This flood has seriously affected agricultural production, with thousands of hectares of rice and crops submerged, and several large reservoirs full or overflowing, posing a risk of flooding downstream. In particular, the eastern part of Gia Lai province is at high risk, with many communes having to activate level 3 flood plans.

Tens of thousands of households had their houses flooded. Photo: Contributor.

Faced with the above situation, the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee and the Civil Defense Command have deployed synchronous response measures. Up to now, the locality has evacuated more than 1,200 households with nearly 3,700 people to safe places. At the same time, forces were deployed to control traffic and set up barriers at flooded and landslide areas. Military forces, police, and militia also participated in rescue and support for residents.

The Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee requested the Provincial Military Command and the Provincial Police to increase forces and mobile vehicles to immediately go to flooded and isolated areas to support the evacuation of people, protect property and maintain security and order. Units must arrange forces to be on duty 24/7, especially in vulnerable areas with the risk of prolonged flooding, in order to promptly access and provide relief food, provisions and necessities to people.

In a related development, on November 19, the Department of Education and Training of Gia Lai province issued an urgent document to localities and schools, requesting students to take time off from school to cope with heavy rain and widespread flooding.

Accordingly, heads of educational institutions across the province urgently ordered students to temporarily stop going to school from the morning of November 19 until further notice, to ensure safety in the context of prolonged heavy rain. At the same time, schools are ready to create conditions for local authorities to use their facilities as evacuation sites if floods rise.

Gia Lai province currently has nearly 1,300 schools with more than 760,000 students from kindergarten to high school.

Previously, the Department of Education and Training requested schools to closely monitor weather warnings and forecasts; promptly update the risks of floods, flash floods, and landslides to fully inform staff, teachers, employees and students. Based on the actual situation, units must proactively decide to let students stay home from school, ensuring absolute safety in all flood situations.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/mua-lu-nhan-chim-gia-lai-hon-10200-can-nha-bi-ngap-d785201.html