Together, together to overcome storms and floods
The storm made landfall and circulated after the storm with prolonged heavy rain, causing the water level to rise and overflow the dike in Dien Cong. Remember, detecting it in time, the local government mobilized the political system, means, equipment, and materials on the spot, along with the people, to participate in the dike rescue. Immediately, the local government sent forces to patrol along the dike to promptly check the points at risk of landslides; notified the elderly and children to collect light and easily movable assets to high and safe places to prevent dike breakage so that timely rescue can be provided.
Accordingly, people brought bamboo poles, households brought bags to contain sand to join the rescue with many measures. The city's military command, Regiment 244, the Northeast Mobile Police Regiment, and businesses with machinery and equipment joined hands to rescue the dike from 3:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on September 8, ensuring the safety of the Dien Cong dike.
Mr. Vu Xuan Phien, Secretary of Dien Cong 1 area, recalled that moment, at around 5 am when he went to the dike and discovered that the water level was high and there was a risk of the dike overflowing, he tried his best to call out to the people.
“From young to old, men and women joined hands to prevent the dike from overflowing, mobilizing everything they had. Every household had their own means, so they mobilized everything. Even the roof support poles were ready to be brought out to prevent the dike from overflowing. The people worked enthusiastically, and the ward officials also rolled up their sleeves and directly gave instructions,” said Mr. Phien.
The dike at Cay Thau temple and Dien Cong 3 area was discovered to have landslides and open mouths at the foot of the dike after the flood. On the morning of September 9, the People's Committee of Trung Vuong ward mobilized all forces, means and support from neighboring wards to participate in timely rescue and reinforce the dike.
Sharing with reporters, Chairman of Trung Vuong Ward People's Committee Nguyen Hong Quang said: After storm No. 3, we highly appreciate the cooperation and solidarity of the people to carry out the task of storm prevention. At the dike, more than 20,000 sandbags were built by more than 1,000 people and units working together. Immediately after the storm and the post-storm circulation, the local government also mobilized people to clean up the environment and support each other to gradually stabilize their lives.
Ward Chairman Nguyen Hong Quang said, from the severe damage caused by the storm and its circulation, we see more clearly the urgency of coming up with appropriate solutions to cope with the weather and natural disasters that are forecasted to have complex developments like storm No. 3. The immediate priority is to ensure the safety of the Dien Cong dike.
Need to invest and upgrade soon
According to Mr. Quang, Dien Cong dike is a level IV dike over 11.4km long, with the function of protecting the safety of life and property for hundreds of households and agricultural land, lagoons, and aquaculture ponds of 3 areas: Dien Cong 1, Dien Cong 2 and Dien Cong 3 in Trung Vuong ward, Uong Bi city...
However, this dike was invested in a long time ago and is now degraded. Along with that, the dike has 7 drainage culverts but they are also degraded, making it very difficult to drain water when there is a high tide.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Truc, a resident of the ward, said: “This Dien Cong dike has been there for a long time. Now there are many places that have been eroded. Like the storm in June and the recent storm No. 3, we are very worried, just worried about the dike overflowing, the dike breaking is extremely dangerous!”
It is known that in 2007, this dike was upgraded and repaired with a length of more than 9km. Most recently, in the period of 2017-2019, Uong Bi City continued to upgrade more than 1.78km of the most vulnerable section of Dien Cong dike. However, because the dike body is mainly made of sandy soil, it has been eroded over many years, causing the dike elevation to gradually decrease over time. Although it has been upgraded, due to lack of investment resources, this dike has only been repaired slightly and not synchronously.
“Currently, some sections of the entire Dien Cong dike are deteriorating. We hope that Quang Ninh province will soon pay attention to investing in reinforcing the remaining dike, ensuring safety and stability for local people,” the Chairman of the Trung Vuong Ward People’s Committee added.
In addition to Dien Cong dike, storm No. 3, along with the impact of post-storm circulation, also threatened Hong Phong dike (Dong Trieu town), Dong Bai dike (Quang Yen town)... causing landslides at some points and the risk of water overflowing the dike.
According to Mr. Doan Manh Phuong, Chief of Office of Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue and Civil Defense of Quang Ninh province, the ability of the dike system in Quang Ninh to withstand storms like the recent storm No. 3 is very unsafe.
“The dyke system must be upgraded to promptly adapt to natural disasters. Currently, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has reported and proposed to the Provincial People's Committee to allow the establishment of a project to review and assess the current status of dykes. Through the project, a specific assessment of each dyke line will be made to have appropriate solutions to respond to weather and natural disasters that are forecast to have complex developments such as the recent storm No. 3,” Mr. Phuong emphasized.
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