Flood-prone areas recover before Tet.

Following the major floods on December 3rd and 4th, as soon as the water receded, residents of the southeastern wards and communes of Lam Dong province quickly cleaned up their mud-covered houses and goods. Everyone wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible to prepare for the upcoming Lunar New Year 2026.

Mrs. Thu is selling the pile of wet rice, which smells sour, to livestock farmers.

Salvaging the aftermath of the great flood.

Along National Highway 1A, in the section passing through Ham Thang ward, when the floodwaters recede and the sun comes out, tarpaulins used for drying rice, beans, and bran stretch along both sides of the road. Just a few days ago, this area was submerged in muddy water, and people worried as the raging water flooded their yards. Now, the sound of brooms sweeping mud and people calling out to each other to clean up waterlogged goods in preparation for the year-end sales season fills the air. The warmth of normal life has quickly returned, despite the many difficulties that remain.

In Thang Thuan neighborhood, the cement floor of Mrs. Bui Thi Thu's rice mill still clearly shows traces of water stains. On the morning of December 5th, as soon as the floor dried, her entire family immediately poured out sacks of rice to dry along the roadside. The rice was piled high, spread out on tarpaulins along the highway, and the wind carried the slightly sour smell of fermented rice.

Ms. Thu recalled that the water started overflowing the highway around 5 p.m. on December 4th, then surged straight into the warehouse in just a few moments. “I thought the water wouldn’t reach it, so I only had time to move a few bags of rice from the yard. Who knew the water would rush in so quickly, I couldn’t react in time. I shouted ‘help, help’ to my neighbors, but every house was flooded, so nobody could help anyone,” Ms. Thu said.

Over 4 tons of rice bran were submerged, and the family only managed to save 5 bags. The rice warehouse was also damaged, with approximately 8 tons of short-grain rice used for making vermicelli and sticky rice ruined. Ms. Thu estimates the damage at around 200 million VND, not including damaged household appliances such as the washing machine and refrigerator.

Damaged groceries

With her rice spoiled, Mrs. Thu advertised the waterlogged rice online for 100,000 VND per bag for people to buy and use in making rice wine. The remaining rice, which she dried, sold for 200,000 VND per bag, partially recovering her capital. For the past few days, some of her fragrant rice has been submerged in water, and she has been busy hiring trucks to transport it to Ma Lam (Ham Thuan commune) to dry, hoping to salvage some of her investment after the unexpected flood.

In Kim Ngoc neighborhood, Toan Thuan's grocery store is still piled high with boxes of goods that haven't had time to dry. On the floor, mung beans and soybeans are spread out in thin layers. This store is a distribution point for many small stalls around the area, so Ms. Thuan imports a lot of goods in preparation for the Lunar New Year: mung bean noodles, soybeans, corn, sticky rice, brown sugar, etc.

When the water rose, the whole family rushed to carry each crate of goods. It was too late; the raging water from the road surface flooded in, popping open the lids and rotting all the dry goods. Ms. Thuan said, her voice choked with emotion: "The damage is over 300 million dong. Some crates floated all the way down to the Cai River; people who found them called to let us know."

Mrs. Thuan with a pile of soggy, waterlogged rice noodles.

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Thinking about the imported goods for Tet that haven't been paid for yet means everything is lost, but then you look around and see how hard the farmers are suffering too. The rice has just been harvested, the dragon fruit hasn't been picked yet, and household belongings have been swept away by the floodwaters. Everyone has to try to get back on their feet...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuan, owner of Toan Thuan grocery store.

Also along National Highway 1A, a plant nursery had to wipe down each plastic pot and gather mud-covered seed packets to dry them. A loss of 30 million VND is significant for a small-scale business, but they still tried their best to prepare seeds for farmers in time for the Tet holiday.

Prioritize resources to support the people.

Chairman of Ham Thang Ward People's Committee, Tran Ngoc Hien, informed: "The damage to production and trade is extensive and has not yet been fully quantified. The ward is reviewing the situation to propose support and prioritize remediation efforts."

Over the past few days, police, militia, community organizations, and neighborhood officials have been present in the neighborhood, helping residents clear mud, rearrange belongings, and distribute relief supplies. Charitable groups, businesses, and philanthropists from within and outside the province have also continuously provided support, adding warmth to the lives of flood victims.

The provincial leadership delegation visited and inquired about the well-being of the people in Ham Thang ward.

From the early morning of December 4th, upon receiving information that the Song Quao reservoir was increasing its discharge rate, the Ham Thang ward authorities immediately activated their response plan. Neighborhoods along the Cai River continuously broadcast messages urging residents to evacuate their belongings. The Head of the Civil Defense Steering Committee held an emergency meeting, mobilizing police, militia, and neighborhood officials to assist residents. The ward chairman issued a mandatory evacuation order to ensure safety. This is the second time the ward has experienced widespread flooding. The estimated damage from this flood is approximately 120 billion VND, with 18 out of 19 neighborhoods flooded, nearly 7,000 households experiencing water inundation, 2,800 households experiencing deep flooding requiring emergency evacuation, 2 houses completely collapsed, and many others severely damaged; nearly 521 hectares of perennial crops, dragon fruit, and other crops were affected.

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... Local authorities must compile detailed damage statistics in each sector so that the province can develop plans to support and repair people's homes. Policies to support people in returning to normal life and restoring production are crucial.

Comrade Y Thanh Ha Nie Kdam, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Head of the Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies, emphasized this point at the working session on December 7th.

On December 7th, a delegation of provincial leaders visited Ham Thang ward, Ham Thuan commune, and Ham Liem district. There, the Secretary of the Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee, Y Thanh Ha Nie Kdam, personally visited, encouraged, and provided support to the people. The Secretary acknowledged and highly appreciated the localities' proactive efforts in evacuating residents, minimizing damage, and connecting with benefactors to provide relief. He also requested continued mobilization of forces to assist in cleaning up the environment, restoring essential infrastructure, and urgently helping people stabilize production.

Reconstruction is underway in every home, and the government is also urgently implementing various policies to help people get back on their feet as quickly as possible. Lam Dong province has issued support levels for disaster relief after the floods, and commercial banks are implementing interest rate reductions, debt restructuring, and preferential loans...

A few days after the flood, the roads were dry, and each family still had its own worries, but everyone, from the people to the entire political system of the province, was working together in a common effort: to recover from the flood and return life to normal.

Through a review, the Provincial Social Policy Bank received an additional 306 billion VND from the central government, along with 200 billion VND from the local budget. Thanks to this, in just a few weeks, from November 20th to the present, 3,538 households have accessed 227 billion VND to rebuild toilets, restore clean water sources, and resume production.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/vung-ron-ngap-guong-day-truc-tet-409688.html