Calculating how to live with... floods

Given the lingering effects of last year's floods along the river basins, many early response plans have been developed at the local level to minimize damage during the next rainy season.

The "Love the Floating Village" community launched the canoes and handed them over to the rapid response team in four villages. Photo: PHAN VINH

Proactive action on the spot.

Recently, in preparation for the 2026 rainy season, the "Love Go Noi" community has mobilized resources to equip five stand-up motorboats, each capable of carrying approximately eight people, with a total value of nearly 225 million VND.

These boats are managed by four groups of young volunteers in the villages of Ha An, Cam Phu 1, Cam Phu 2, and Thi Phuong, areas that are frequently flooded and easily isolated during major floods. Mr. Tran Thu, representative of the "Love Go Noi" community, said: "In previous floods, the youth forces in these villages were the quickest to reach people in deeply flooded areas, assisting with relocation, transporting essential supplies, and connecting isolated points. Therefore, assigning the boats to these rapid response teams is appropriate to the local situation."

According to Mr. Thu, although resources are assigned to each village, when natural disasters occur, they will be flexibly coordinated throughout the entire commune, depending on the specific developments of each flood, in order to ensure efficient use and timely support for vulnerable areas.

In the low-lying areas, each household usually has a small boat for use when the water level rises. Photo: PHAN VINH

“Our future direction is to coordinate with local authorities to organize training, aiming to build a local workforce with the skills and certifications to operate waterway vessels. We plan to hold a drill on September 2nd to test our coordination capabilities before the rainy season,” Mr. Thu said.

Not only in Go Noi, but also in Tinh Yen village (Thu Bon commune), many households have proactively changed their response methods after the successive damages caused by floods in recent years.

Ms. Ho Thi Dau, a local resident, shared: “In previous years, when the water rose quickly, many families couldn't react in time and were completely isolated. After that, people learned from experience, and each household tried to acquire a small boat to be able to move around when necessary. Given the limited infrastructure, people are forced to adapt to minimize damage.”

Prepare in advance.

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Son, Chairman of the Thu Bon Commune People's Committee, the Da Nang City People's Committee has declared a state of emergency, allowing the implementation of a project to build an embankment to protect the riverbank section in Van hamlet (Group 11, Tinh Yen village), and assigning the Thu Bon Commune People's Committee as the investor.

The embankment along the Thu Bon River in Duy Nghia commune, which has suffered erosion, is expected to be reinforced before September 15, 2026. (In the photo: Local residents and authorities constructing a temporary embankment to prevent erosion in November 2025. Photo: PHAN VINH)

The construction of the embankment in this area is an urgent requirement to protect the residential area. Initially, the total investment was approximately 6.3 billion VND, but during the survey, a silt pocket was discovered beneath the riverbed, requiring design adjustments and raising the total investment to over 10 billion VND. Therefore, there has been an increase in project implementation time. However, the local authorities are focusing on completing the necessary procedures to begin construction as soon as possible, striving to finish before this year's rainy season.

Meanwhile, in Duy Nghia commune, after the heavy rains and floods at the end of 2025, nearly 1.5km of the Thu Bon River embankment, passing through An Luong, Thuan An, and Trung Phuong villages, was severely damaged, directly affecting approximately 500 households.

Mr. Pham Duoc, Chairman of the Duy Nghia Commune People's Committee, said that the Da Nang City People's Committee issued Decision No. 1773 dated April 22, 2026, to implement the An Luong area protection embankment project under an emergency order, with a total investment of 258 billion VND and a length of nearly 1.5 km. Mr. Duoc stated: “According to the plan, the land handover will be completed in May, and the project is expected to be completed in September 2026, contributing to stabilizing the lives of the people and minimizing the risk of landslides in subsequent rainy seasons.”

As a low-lying riverside plain, Nam Phuoc commune is facing various types of natural disasters that are increasing in both frequency and severity. Mr. Nguyen Truc Sang, Head of the Economic Department of Nam Phuoc commune, stated that the local disaster prevention plan for the period 2026-2030 is based on lessons learned from the major floods of 2025, emphasizing proactive measures, early preparation, and organized response according to risk levels.

“The locality has reviewed vulnerable areas, developed specific evacuation plans, and strengthened civil defense forces, preparing sufficient equipment and supplies according to the 'four on-the-spot' principle to ensure the ability to respond when a situation occurs. Simultaneously, the warning information system has been enhanced through the local broadcasting network, helping people access timely information about weather developments, water levels, and flood release situations, thereby enabling them to be more proactive in prevention,” Mr. Sang said.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/tinh-toan-song-chung-voi-lu-3337582.html