South Central region devastated after storm

After a night of being swept by storm No. 13, many coastal villages in Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, and Dak Lak were devastated, roofs blown off, walls collapsed, and sea sand flooded into the porches. Heavy rain and high tides swept away many people's properties...

Thought there was no way to live!

After storm No. 13, on the morning of November 7, the coastal village of Tinh Khe commune ( Quang Ngai province) was devastated. Along An Ky village, tiled roofs were broken, trees were tilted, and sand covered the yard. Ms. Nguyen Thi Dao was shocked: The waves were unusually high, the water was half a meter deep, the yard was covered with sand, and the concrete fences had also collapsed. According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Vuong, Chairman of Tinh Khe Commune People's Committee, the whole commune has about 1,000 households living along 10km of coastline, of which 157 houses were damaged, causing damage of about 25 billion VND.

In Quy Nhon ( Gia Lai ), storm winds swept away shops and hotels along the coast. On An Duong Vuong, Nguyen Tat Thanh, and Xuan Dieu streets, trees were uprooted and signs were flying everywhere. Ms. Ha Thi Cam Van, owner of two restaurants, looked at the rubble in dismay: Despite being carefully reinforced, both restaurants still collapsed, causing more than 4 billion VND in damage. Now I don't know where to start again...

Many houses in Xuan Thanh fishing village (Phu My Dong commune, Gia Lai province) were torn apart by the waves. Photo: NGOC OAI

Next to Quy Nhon area, in Tuy Phuoc commune, the small house of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan (58 years old) next to Thi Nai lagoon is just a pile of rubble. She cried: She saved up for many years to repair the house, now the storm swept it all away, considered a total loss. Next to that, Mr. Do Trong Anh's (62 years old) house was also devastated. He said, the three of them had to "run between the storm and the high tide", crawling under the table to avoid the flying corrugated iron, then climbing up to avoid the water. One night, they both ran from the storm and the flood, thinking there was no way to survive.

In Xuan Thanh fishing village (Phu My Dong commune, Gia Lai province), dozens of houses were destroyed, their roofs were blown off, and the coastal embankment was destroyed by the waves. Mrs. Ho Thi Nhung said tearfully: "We know this is a high-tide area, but we are so poor that we still depend on the sea to make a living. Now that our houses have collapsed, we don't know where to take refuge." In De Gi commune, houses, shops, and the shrimp farm of the Vietnam-Australia Cooperative were torn apart by the waves.

Many boats in Song Cau ward ( Dak Lak province) were damaged after the storm. Photo: MAI CUONG - NGOC OAI - NGUYEN TRANG

The scene in Song Cau ward (Dak Lak province) was equally tragic. Trees and electric poles were downed, corrugated iron roofs and signs were flying everywhere. Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ut (1975) sat on the shore looking out to sea, her voice choked: "My husband and I raised 250,000 giant tiger prawns, planning to sell them for Tet, but the storm destroyed everything." Next to him, Mr. Lieu An (1945) was trying to patch up the roof, while his son was hiring a boat to look for a fishing boat that had been swept away by the waves. Not finding the boat meant losing his rice pot.

In Tuy An Bac commune (Dak Lak province), many roads are still deeply flooded, some residential areas are isolated. Ms. Nguyen Thanh Nga said that her family evacuated since the afternoon of November 6, but until now they have not been able to return home because the water from La Hieng 2 hydropower plant is rising. Local authorities are urgently supporting and evacuating people to safe places, ensuring no human casualties.

Concentrate on helping people

On the morning of November 7, when the rain had just stopped, more than 50 officers and soldiers of the Quang Ngai Provincial Military Command's assault team were present at Long Phung commune. The tornado on the night of November 6 caused 45 houses to have their roofs blown off, and many properties were swept away. Amidst the rubble, the young soldiers worked hard to re-roof houses, re-tile each tile, and clear away rubble, helping people to quickly stabilize their lives.

Police help people in An Ky fishing village, Tinh Khe commune (Quang Ngai province) clean up their houses after the storm.

In the western region of Quang Ngai, especially in the communes of Mang Ri, Tu Mo Rong, Ngoc Linh, and Dak Sao, strong gusts of wind blew off the roofs and caused landslides in hundreds of houses. The most serious was Dak Sao commune with about 100 damaged houses, many Xo Dang households had to take temporary shelter. In the morning, the government mobilized all militia, commune police, and border guards to each village to help people rebuild roofs and provide temporary shelter. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Thuy, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Sao commune, said: "The commune mobilized more than 100 cadres, militia, and security teams to 17 villages to help people repair their houses. For many households in difficulty, the commune had to provide advance corrugated iron and nails. By 3:00 p.m. on November 7, about 80% of damaged houses had been repaired."

In Gia Lai, from early morning, thousands of military officers, soldiers, police and local forces simultaneously took action to overcome the consequences of storm No. 13. In the Quy Nhon area, more than 500 urban workers, along with soldiers and police, cleaned up trees, dredged sewers, and rebuilt broken signs. At schools, teachers and parents swept classrooms, fixed desks and chairs, and welcomed students back to school early. Mr. Thai Minh Chau, Director of Gia Lai Province Electricity, said: The storm damaged 8,483 power stations, causing nearly 977,000 households to lose power.

Soldiers collect garbage in a residential area along Thi Nai lagoon (Gia Lai province)

On the afternoon of November 7, Major General Luong Dinh Chung, Party Secretary and Political Commissar of Military Region 5, led a working delegation to Gia Lai to visit and encourage the families affected by the damage and direct the recovery. Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, requested localities to mobilize all forces, "not to let people lack food, lack housing, and students have to take a long break from school". The province prioritizes the restoration of essential works - transportation, hospitals, schools - striving to complete before November 10.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, after making landfall in the South Central and Central Highlands regions (focusing on the provinces of Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Quang Ngai), on the morning of November 7, storm No. 13 weakened into a low-pressure area in Lower Laos. Updated to 5 p.m. on November 7 from the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), storm No. 13 has killed 5 people (Dak Lak: 3 people, Gia Lai: 2 people) and 3 people are missing (in Quang Ngai province), 17 people were injured.

The transportation system in many provinces in the Central and Central Highlands regions was severely damaged. Many provincial and communal roads were eroded and deeply flooded. In Gia Lai, the Dak Po To bridge on Truong Son Dong road was swept away by floodwaters, about 25m long and 8m deep. In Dak Lak, National Highway 19C and many provincial roads and the North-South railway were blocked due to flooding and erosion. Electricity units reported 449 broken electric poles. A total of 1,603,637 customers lost power, and by the afternoon of November 7, power had been restored to 315,016 customers, of which Gia Lai province still had widespread power outages.

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Many places are isolated

After storm No. 13 dissipated, many mountainous and coastal areas in the Central region were still covered in mud and floodwater. Heavy rain continued, rocks and soil continued to slide down, rising tides caused erosion, cutting off many residential areas and paralyzing traffic.

In Da Nang City, although only located on the edge of the storm, big waves pushed sand and garbage to cover the coastal roads, especially the section from Vuong Thua Vu to the foot of Son Tra Mountain. The sand layer was up to 30cm thick, causing traffic congestion. The city mobilized forces and mechanical vehicles to collect, level and clear the road surface.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Vu, Head of the Management Board of Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang tourist beaches, said that many locals and foreigners also volunteered to clean up, contributing to cleaning the beach, preserving the city's image after the storm. In Dac Pring commune, the authorities and Border Guard Station urgently evacuated 5 households in village 49A when they discovered a 13m long, 40cm deep crack in the ground, with some places collapsing nearly 2m. The commune evacuated people, prepared food and proposed to arrange safe housing.

A traffic route in Tra Linh commune (Da Nang city) was seriously damaged by heavy rain. Photo: TRA LINH

In Gia Lai province, heavy rains and floods caused the Mo Nang 2 village culvert (Ia Pa commune) to be deeply flooded, isolating 314 households. In the western region, including Ayun Pa, Ia Hiao, Ia Pa and Ia Sao communes, more than 1,000 houses had half their roofs submerged, and crops and poultry were swept away.

Mr. Do Van Trieu (Ia Pa commune) said: The water rose so fast, I only had time to carry my child and run. In the morning, the house was flooded nearly 2m deep, everything was in disarray... The provincial Department of Construction recorded a landslide of 20m of the road leading to Kliec bridge (Truong Son Dong road, Po To commune), cutting off the route connecting Cho Long commune and National Highway 19. The province has blocked off the area to ensure safety. After a night of temporary closure, An Khe pass was reopened; at Lo Xo pass (Ho Chi Minh road, Dak Plo commune, Quang Ngai province), the authorities have opened the road, reconnecting traffic between Quang Ngai and Da Nang city.

In Quang Ngai province, more than 1,000 people from Ngoc Linh and Mang Ri communes were assisted to return home after two days of avoiding the storm. Mr. Pham Xuan Quang, Chairman of Mang Ri Commune People's Committee, said that Chung Tam village had a large crack that threatened 78 households. The commune had marked the danger zone and proposed investing nearly 20 billion VND to build a resettlement area. Along the coast of this province, high tides and big waves continued to wreak havoc. In Long Phung commune, waves broke the embankment, washed away 200m of concrete road, cutting off the route connecting An Chuan - Ky Tan - Vinh Phu villages.

Mr. Ngo Van Thanh, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said that the commune has barricaded and put up danger warning signs. In Van Tuong, waves damaged 500m of the road to the fishing wharf in An Cuong village, and the Ganh Yen area was severely eroded. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet (Thanh Thuy village) said: The rising tide washed away all the sand and deeply eroded the embankment. Now I just hope to clean up soon so I can start trading again. In Sa Huynh ward, Mr. Nguyen Viet Thanh, Chairman of the Ward People's Committee, said that about 200 houses were flooded, 20 houses had their roofs blown off, 15 shops were damaged, a fishing boat sank, and 2 seafood cages were swept away.

On the evening of November 7, Mr. Nguyen Vu Linh Sang, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ta Nang Commune (Lam Dong Province), said that the commune had urgently evacuated 70 households in Cha Rang Hao and Tou Neh villages due to the risk of flooding around Cay An Lake. The households were taken to Cha Rang Hao Primary School and the Protestant Church of the commune. The lake water level rose, approaching the overflow level, with the risk of the dam breaking. The authorities mobilized forces to be on duty, inspect, handle the situation, and ensure the safety of people in the downstream area.

PV GROUP

NGOC OAI - MAI CUONG - NGUYEN TRANG - HUU PHUC - VAN PHUC

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nam-trung-bo-tan-hoang-sau-bao-post822375.html