In houses without roofs due to Typhoon Kalmaegi

Trong những ngôi nhà không còn mái vì bão Kalmaegi - Ảnh 1. — Mr. Pham Ngoc Than is still in shock after witnessing the entire roof of his house being blown away by the wind - Photo: MINH HOA

After the storm, a scene of devastation appeared before the eyes of Mr. Pham Ngoc Than (39 years old, living in Van Van village, Tuy Phuoc commune, Gia Lai province). The wind of storm No. 13 (Kalmaegi) had stopped howling, but its consequences still lingered everywhere in Quy Nhon, including Mr. Than's house.

Last night he had struggled for hours in the howling wind, trying to keep the roof from being blown away, trying to hold it together plank by plank, piece by piece of corrugated iron. His hands were bleeding, but he would not let go.

However, he still could not overcome this terrible storm. His roof was blown away by the strong wind, leaving only a bare house, the roof was destroyed.

He looked around, his heart heavy, took a deep breath to try to get up, fix the roof and continue life.

"Last night I was alone in the house, the wind was terrible, it kept howling. I heard the sound of the corrugated iron roof flying away, then I used a rope to thread through the beam in the middle of the house to hold it up but it was no use. When the storm came back again, it blew away my roof, everything was devastated. I prepared and tried my best but I couldn't," Mr. Than recounted in shock.

Not only Mr. Than's family, many households in Quy Nhon also fell into the situation of "sleeping under the open sky and on the ground". Mrs. Huynh Thi Tuyet Hoa (Ward 5, Quy Nhon Dong Ward) had her house's roof completely blown off. She said this was the second time in her life she had witnessed a storm with such strong winds. The first time she witnessed a strong storm was about 30 years ago.

"I saved up all my life to build a level four house, but the storm came and blew everything away, the roof was ripped off and thrown to the other side of the street. Now I can only stand there looking at the rubble and can't hold back my tears," Ms. Hoa lamented, standing in a corner looking at the bare, roofless house.

Trong những ngôi nhà không còn mái vì bão Kalmaegi - Ảnh 2. — The house of Ms. Huynh Thi Tuyet Hoa in Ward 5, Quy Nhon Dong Ward had its roof blown off and was destroyed after storm No. 13 made landfall on November 6 - Photo: MINH HOA

The house of Mrs. Truong Thi Hanh (76 years old, living in Tuy Phuoc commune) also had the roof of the cow barn and duck pen blown away by the wind and damaged.

"I heard the sound of the corrugated iron roof flying away. The old couple could only hide in the house and pray that the corrugated iron roof would not fly away. But the strong wind had blown away the corrugated iron roofs of the cow and duck pens. Now we don't know where to find money to re-roof them," Ms. Hanh shared with a trembling voice.

Trong những ngôi nhà không còn mái vì bão Kalmaegi - Ảnh 3. — The cow barn of Mrs. Truong Thi Hanh (76 years old, living in Tuy Phuoc commune) was blown away by the wind, the corrugated iron sheet was blown away - Photo: MINH HOA

In Quy Nhon, the scene after the storm was heartbreaking. Roofs were blown off houses, many walls collapsed, and furniture was blown everywhere.

Mr. Truong Quoc Thanh, a resident of Quy Nhon ward, still in shock, recounted: "I have never witnessed such a fierce storm. The wind howled for hours. Roofs and porches of many houses were blown away, hundreds of trees were broken..."