Working all night to rescue patients and people

The army, police and volunteers of the SOS 75 Hue Zero Team rushed through the night into the raging floodwaters to urgently evacuate patients being treated at Hue Central Hospital and people in Hue City to safety.

At Hue Central Hospital, under the direction of Mr. Nguyen Chi Tai, Vice Chairman of Hue City People's Committee, hundreds of military and police officers and soldiers divided themselves to each department and room affected by flooding, coordinating with medical staff and doctors to move patients being treated to higher ground; at the same time, moving all equipment and specialized machinery systems to safe locations.

The army helped move patients and equipment from flooded wards to safe areas.

Patient CMH, from Quang Tri, who is being treated at Hue Central Hospital, shared: “We were panicking because the Huong River was rising higher and higher, flooding the hospital and surrounding the rooms in the Orthopedic Trauma Department, when the soldiers arrived. Each soldier had a job, some cleaning up the IV lines, some supporting patients so that their teammates could carry them and move them to higher floors to avoid the flood. They wholeheartedly encouraged each patient, then worked diligently as if they were family members of each patient’s family… It is only in times of trouble that we can truly understand the relationship between the army and the people.”

By 11:00 p.m. on October 27, all patients and equipment of Hue Central Hospital had been safely moved to higher ground.

MSc. Dr. Hoang Thi Lan Huong, Deputy Director of Hue Central Hospital, said that on the afternoon of October 27, the Huong River flooded into many departments of the hospital. All staff had to make efforts to move patients to higher ground.

"When the situation became more complicated, the police and military forces immediately arrived to support. Everyone tried their best to ensure absolute safety for the patients," said the Deputy Director of Hue Central Hospital.

Directly directing the response to the flood, Mr. Nguyen Chi Tai, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Hue City People's Committee, requested Hue Central Hospital to urgently deploy plans to ensure the safety of patients, their families and medical staff in the context of complicated floods. At the same time, he requested doctors and nurses to be on duty regularly, quickly move equipment, records and books to higher places, and limit movement within the hospital grounds to ensure safety. He requested the hospital to apply information technology through the camera system to monitor when incidents occur, in order to promptly handle them.

Rush into the flood to save people

Last night, people in Hue City stayed up all night. The rain and floodwaters rose, many areas were deeply submerged, traffic was paralyzed. Emergency response work was urgently deployed.

On the streets in the center of Hue City, where floodwaters were flowing rapidly, police forces used ropes as support, rushing together into deep flooded areas in the dark of night to assist and evacuate hundreds of people stranded in deep water areas to safety.

In particular, in the area north of Truong Tien bridge, the Traffic Police force of Hue City Police coordinated with officers and soldiers of Hue City Military Command to promptly move nearly 40 patients and elderly people flooded at the Rehabilitation Hospital on To Hien Thanh street and flooded areas in Phu Xuan ward to highlands.

Police and army worked through the night to rescue and move people trapped in low-lying areas of Hue City to higher ground.

The entire city of Hue was almost submerged in a vast "sea" of floodwater. The weak street lights reflected on the murky water. Each rescue vehicle continuously blared its siren as it moved through the deeply flooded streets. At the Department of Irrigation and Climate Change, members of the Hue City Civil Defense Command were on duty continuously, monitoring the water levels of reservoirs and rivers to promptly come up with response plans.

Major Nguyen Xuan Luu, Training Assistant, Staff Department, Hue City Military Command, said that on the night of October 27, Hue City Military Command continued to mobilize hundreds of officers and soldiers on duty, militia forces of communes and wards, along with many vehicles, canoes, and boats to low-lying areas and deep flooded areas to evacuate affected people to shelters, ensuring absolute safety for people's lives and property.

Along with the army and police, volunteers of the SOS 75 Hue Zero-dong Team also worked through the night to rescue people trapped in the flood. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Nhat Hoang, Team Leader of the SOS 75 Hue Zero-dong Team, said that many days ago, the team had planned and prepared canoes, ambulances, vehicles and necessary equipment to be ready to support people in the area. However, the flood rose quickly over a large area, so the team's rescue work became overloaded when they continuously received calls and text messages asking for support.

"Moving in deep, fast-flowing floodwaters is very dangerous, while the divided roads make it very slow to reach deep flooded areas. Despite the difficulties, the rescue team is still trying tirelessly because the people there still need them," said Nguyen Ngoc Nhat Hoang.

Police and army worked all night to rescue and evacuate patients and people from the flood.

The Hue City Civil Defense Command said that on the night of October 27, 32 communes and wards in Hue City were flooded 1-2 meters deep. Many sections of National Highway 1 were flooded, with water flowing through urban areas. Landslides on traffic routes were complicated.

Mr. Phan Thien Dinh, Chairman of Hue City People's Committee, has directed the People's Committees of communes and wards to continue and urgently deploy support for evacuation and relocation of people to safe places according to the approved plan, prioritizing the safety of vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. In addition, the organization should review the storage of essential materials, vehicles, and goods, especially in areas that are often isolated by heavy rain and floods, remote areas; and propagate to people to properly store on-site to prevent prolonged rain and floods.

VAN THANG - QUANG DAO

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/xuyen-dem-ung-cuu-benh-nhan-va-nguoi-dan-post820325.html