November 1999, unforgettable working days...

General Secretary Le Kha Phieu visits Phu Vang after the flood

I still remember clearly, on the afternoon of November 1, 1999, I had to ride my motorbike to Nam Giao. When it was time to return, it started to rain. The rain was fierce with huge drops of water that blinded my eyes and nose, causing excruciating pain. Then, all night long, the rain did not stop, and the intensity did not decrease. In the morning, when I looked out on the street, the water from the An Cuu River had overflowed its banks.

It's flooded, I have to go to the office. If I can still go, I have to try. Many of my brothers are in the Citadel, so they will definitely be stuck. If no one cleans up, and the provincial leaders call me to go to the base, the office will be empty. Thinking that, I left immediately, wearing only shorts, putting on a reporter's shirt, putting my personal papers in the top pocket in case they get wet, then taking my bicycle and riding away to make it easier to move around.

From my house on Hai Trieu Street (An Cuu Ward), going up Hung Vuong Street to Dai Can Temple intersection, it was still dry and easy to walk. Looking up Nguyen Hue Street, I saw many people still wading, so I felt secure to continue. But the further I went, the deeper the water became. It was more than half way, almost to the office, I couldn't turn back and choose another way. Well, I'll try. Encouraging myself like that, I continued to push my bike through the increasingly strong flood water. But when I reached the City People's Court headquarters, the water had risen above my waist and flowed like a waterfall. Trying my best, I still couldn't move any further, and was even knocked back by the water. Having given up, I sadly turned around. Just then, I met Nguyen Tu (working at the Party Committee of the Block). His house was on the Ben Ngu side and he was also anxious to go home. Seeing me, we had a quick "consultation". I just parked my bike at a local's house on the side of the road. Then the two brothers held each other, followed the fence of Nguyen Hue street, crossed Phan Boi Chau street, and safely reached the Tran Thuc Nhan intersection. We said goodbye, Tu went home, and I went to work.

Hoa Duong Strait broke, sweeping away many houses and lives.

Mr. Do Huu Hoa, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and some colleagues from the highlands such as Do Cong Dien, Nguyen Van Ngoc, Tran Thanh Phong... were present. Each person had a job to do, to arrange and save the agency's documents and assets. At that time, Mr. Dinh Nam, Mr. Hoang Ngoc Trung and I shared a room in a very low horizontal house. Mr. Trung was in charge of organization, Mr. Nam and I were in charge of internal affairs - readers. Mr. Trung and Mr. Nam could not go to the agency, I was the only one who had the room key. When I entered the room, my first task was to immediately suggest to Mr. Hoa to mobilize my colleagues to help carry Mr. Trung's entire staff file cabinet up high. All the documents, resumes... of the agency's staff, reporters, and employees were in there. Luckily, the cabinet was not too big and not too heavy. After arranging the file cabinet, I fumbled to move the pile of papers, official documents, and readers' letters. Then came personal belongings. By this time, my pile of hundreds of photos and dozens of rolls of film were submerged in water. The cost of the film and printing the photos was a lot. But the most regrettable thing was the long-term labor. I had to travel here and there, saving up for many years to have such a "bank" of photos. Now it was all gone!

The flood had just receded when the press arrived in all directions. Many horrifying scenes met our eyes. Bodies were pulled up and gathered at the National School stele and many other places in the province to await identification and burial. Countless vehicles, houses, and graves were overturned and swept away. Animal carcasses drifted to low-lying areas, covering the fields and the Tam Giang lagoon… Death and grief were everywhere. But from within the devastation, many hearts and acts of kindness were also shining forth that were truly worthy of respect.

At the newspaper headquarters (No. 15, now 61 Tran Thuc Nhan), during the flood, except for the conference hall and the Editor-in-Chief's office on the 2nd floor, everything else was submerged by floodwaters. The Editorial Board assigned some of its members who were able to stay on duty, both to protect the office and to try to connect information so that when conditions permitted, the newspaper could be published immediately. Due to the widespread flood, the power supply was lost, the printing house was paralyzed, and the newspaper was forced to stop publishing for nearly a week (from November 2 to 7, 1999). On November 8, issue 1550 was published again.

After the flood receded, the highest leaders of the Party, State and Government visited and encouraged the people of Thua Thien Hue. On the morning of November 14, General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, together with Phan Dien, Politburo member, Head of the Central Economic Commission, and Party Central Committee members Tran Dinh Hoan (Chief of the Central Party Office), Huu Tho (Head of the Central Ideology and Culture Commission), and Do Nguyen Phuong (Minister of Health ) visited the Border Guard Squadron 2, Thuan An town, Phu Vang district. In the afternoon of the same day, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan, along with many ministers, visited Huong Tho (Huong Tra), Thuy Bang (Huong Thuy)... I was assigned by the agency to follow and report on the Prime Minister's working delegation. In Huong Tho, Thuy Bang, I still clearly remember the bewildered expression on Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's face when he looked up and saw straw still hanging on the tops of the electric poles, showing how high the water level had risen!

What remains of a family in Huong Tho

According to statistics, the great flood almost flattened the land of Thua Thien Hue . 385 people died and went missing, 94 people were injured, 20,015 houses collapsed and were swept away by water, 1,207 classrooms collapsed, millions of livestock and poultry died, crops and gardens were devastated, and many villages were almost wiped out. The total property damage amounted to nearly 2,000 billion VND at that time... (data at the Memorial Service for compatriots, cadres and soldiers who sacrificed and died in the flood held on the afternoon of November 13, 1999).

During and after the flood, while proactively preventing and overcoming damage at the agency, while actively carrying out propaganda tasks, the team of reporters and editors of Thua Thien Hue Newspaper simultaneously became a force of effective collaborators and informants, mainly for many media agencies and newspapers across the country. During those days of mourning and loss, my colleagues and I traveled and wrote in common grief and in surging emotions. We wrote for our own newspaper and shared information with central and industry newspapers. Not for royalties but out of responsibility to our homeland and our compatriots.

According to statistics, during the days of flooding, the printing house was paralyzed, the newspaper could not be published, Thua Thien Hue was isolated, local and central newspapers could not access, the information they had to promptly send to readers mainly came from the team of reporters and editors of Thua Thien Hue Newspaper. About 100 news and articles were sent to help readers nationwide know the most accurate and hottest information about what was happening in the ancient capital during those tragic days of November 1999.

For their tireless work and meaningful contributions to flood prevention and recovery, the Thua Thien Hue Newspaper was unexpectedly awarded by the Provincial People's Committee; along with the collective, a number of individuals of the Newspaper, including the writer himself, were also honored to be awarded by the Provincial People's Committee on this occasion.

Huy Khanh

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/thang-11-1999-nhung-ngay-tac-nghiep-kho-quen-154737.html