How were the people of Bat Trang pottery village affected after the flood?

As a renowned pottery village in Hanoi, Bat Trang pottery village (Gia Lam district, Hanoi) has 2,355 households, but 910 of them are involved in pottery production and trading, generating an average annual revenue of over 1.2 trillion VND. However, residents say that this is the first flood of its kind in the last 20 years, causing significant economic damage and losses to households in the village.

How were the villagers' fishing nets and equipment affected after the flood (Figure 1)? — The road from the entrance gate of Bat Trang village remained flooded on the morning of September 14th.

As one of the households affected by Typhoon No. 3, the owner of Thanh Dinh pottery workshop said: "From the afternoon of September 11th, floodwaters only started to arrive in Bat Trang pottery village. By the morning of September 12th, almost the entire village was submerged, with water about 1 meter above the house foundations. When the water flooded the pottery items, households immediately had to submerge the pottery containers to prevent the items from floating and colliding with each other, causing damage. I was also very surprised that it's been more than 20 years since I witnessed such a large storm and flood. I clearly remember that in 2002, the village was also flooded, and the amount of water was similar to this recent flood. My wife and I were very surprised and prayed to God that our goods would not be damaged."

"During the two days of flooding, my wife and I quickly moved our pottery items to a safe area to prevent breakage. We were very happy and relieved when the floodwaters receded quickly, allowing people like us to resume our businesses," added the owner of Thanh Dinh pottery workshop.

How were the villagers' fishing gear affected after the flood (image 2)? — Villagers in Bat Trang clean and polish pottery items that were soiled after the storm and floods.

According to the owner of this establishment, because this kind of flooding hasn't happened in decades, most households in the village don't have boats for transportation. Therefore, they have to borrow boats from Kieu Ky village to use when the water rises.

"I didn't think the flooding would be so severe, yet in just one day it reached the doorstep. However, luckily my family didn't suffer much economic damage, while some households in the village lost billions of dong after the recent flood," said the owner of the pottery workshop.

According to reports, by this morning, September 14th, the floodwaters in Bat Trang pottery village had almost completely receded. There are still a few minor puddles near the village gate, but the water has completely receded from the pottery market inside. Several vendors in the village said they were very happy that the storm and floods had passed because the heavy rains and floods had brought all activities to a halt, directly impacting their businesses and causing serious economic losses.

How were the villagers' fishing gear affected after the flood (image 3)? — On the morning of September 14th, the villagers of Bat Trang pottery village began cleaning up the village roads and alleys after the floodwaters receded. Pottery business owners were also busy washing each pottery vessel covered in mud after the flooding to ensure product quality.

Not far away, the Phuong Loan family, who suffered significant damage after the flood, said: "Yesterday, the water was still flooding the area around my house, but by this morning it had almost completely receded, with only a few low-lying areas still having standing water. Today, my family started cleaning up the flooded ceramic pots, including some broken ones, which we are collecting for disposal. I estimate my family suffered losses of about 100-200 million VND. This is a relatively large amount for my family. However, further into the village, there are a few households that were very severely affected by the storm and flood."

As a resident of Bat Trang pottery village who witnessed the entire flooding, Ms. Diep was deeply saddened by the sight of the inundation. Having worked as a laborer in pottery workshops in the village, Ms. Diep hopes that the authorities at all levels will take measures to address and resolve the flooding situation to ensure the safety and business of the people, and prevent the severe impact of floods on the national economy.

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