"Recharge your faith" amidst the raging flood and landslides

While the Central region has had to struggle against natural disasters for generations, amidst the raging floods and landslides, there are always rays of light of humanity, of initiative and of indomitable spirit.

Hue City Police's mobile "zero-cost charging station" helps flood victims maintain communication

Clip: Hue City Border Guards use ropes and pulleys to supply people in the border areas isolated by floods

Clip of Tra Tan commune authorities and local people using hammocks to carry 3 critically injured victims of a landslide and a tree falling through the forest, a landslide in the middle of the night to the emergency room

The recent historic flood in Hue and Da Nang , when the water level rose above all flood peaks in history, villages and urban areas from downstream to upstream in the locality seemed to be submerged in water. In that situation, the images of soldiers, police; militia and self-defense forces, grassroots security; SOS volunteer teams from all over the place and young men in the village... holding on to ropes, rowing boats to overcome the flood, carrying each battery, each rice package, each loudspeaker calling on people to stay calm... have become symbols of vitality and faith.

In the Central region, each rainy and stormy season is a challenge. But it is in these challenges that the ability to respond, the spirit of solidarity and creative thinking are strongly awakened. The story of the "zero-dong charging station" that Hue City Police deployed during the flood peak is a vivid proof. When hundreds of thousands of households lost power because 1,483 transformer stations were forced to cut off to ensure safety, when the phones, the only means to contact relatives, to call for help, to share information, gradually ran out of battery, the idea of ​​"mobile phone charging" was deployed that very night.

It was a simple but deeply humane initiative. Not only did the police bring electricity to every roof and every deeply flooded area, they also brought connection. It was a connection of human hearts, of trust, of the feeling that “we are not alone in the flood”.

Major General Nguyen Thanh Tuan, Director of Hue City Police, said a very simple but meaningful sentence: "Keeping in touch is keeping peace". This sentence can be considered a new philosophy in disaster risk management in areas that often suffer from storms and floods like the Central region, where people not only need material relief but also spiritual support.

Hue City Police's mobile "zero-cost charging station" helps flood victims maintain communication

The “zero-cost charging stations” were set up with the people’s strength and intelligence - when local people and businesses contributed generators, oil, and joined hands with the authorities. There, each engine sound amidst the floodwaters was a heartbeat of humanity. It was not just a technical story, but a testament to the “smart response” model, combining grassroots initiatives and flexible government coordination.

Or in the late afternoon of October 29, from the report of Tra Tan Medical Station to the Da Nang City Civil Defense Command about 3 victims in critical condition due to landslides and fallen trees, but Highway 40B was blocked by landslides, there was no means of transport to the emergency room at the upper level. That very night, the functional forces of the commune and the people used hammocks to carry 3 victims through the forest and landslides for 20km to the emergency room. This is a vivid proof of responsibility and humanity when floods and landslides surround.

2 out of 3 victims of landslides and tree falls in critical condition were given emergency treatment at Tra Tan Commune Health Station, Facility 2.

Not only electricity, but also communication or carrying victims through landslide forests to the emergency room. At Hue Rehabilitation Hospital, where nearly 40 patients were isolated overnight, police and army soldiers used ropes to cross the raging water, carrying patients one by one out of the flooded area. Or at the A Luoi border area, ropes were used in a different way. To transfer rice, instant noodles, and milk to 26 isolated households on the other side of the flooded stream. In the midst of the raging water, each bag of rice passed from hand to hand, each carton of milk passed through the pulley, was the wholeheartedness of the border guards.

No high technology, no modern equipment, but with human intelligence and heart, the "soft resources" that no flood can drown.

Hue City Border Guards use ropes and pulleys to supply people in border areas isolated by floods.

Natural disasters in the Central region have become an “inevitable part” of life. But what makes the Central region special is not the severity of nature, but the way people here deal with it. Every time a flood passes, new initiatives and adaptation models emerge, drawn from practice. From “flood-proof houses”, “zero-cost charging stations”, “relief pulleys”, to “online flood maps”, the way Hue and Da Nang cities are doing it all shows the spirit of self-reliance, self-reliance and creativity of the people of the Central region.

Lessons from Hue and Da Nang during this flood are a reminder for disaster prevention work in general: people must be at the center, local initiatives must be the foundation, and inter-sectoral coordination must be the strength. Initiatives “from the people, for the people” need to be summarized, replicated, and turned into proactive response models, instead of just being situational reactions in a crisis.

In the midst of raging water and looming landslides, the people of Central Vietnam still find ways to hold on to the thread of faith, whether it is a lifeline, a hammock, an electric wire to charge a phone, or a pulley to transport rice. All of these, in the end, are symbols of the strength that binds the community, the strength that makes up the bravery of Central Vietnam.

And when the rivers are peaceful again, when Hue, Da Nang, Quang Tri... restore their rhythm of life, stories like the "zero-cost charging station" will still be passed on as a reminder: amidst the floods, people are still the strongest source of light.

NGUYEN KHOI - VAN THANG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/sac-niem-tin-giua-dong-lu-du-sat-lo-bua-vay-post820774.html