Lan said that what she will never forget in her life is the flashlight beam of the rescue team cutting through the night, sweeping across the flooded roof, where her family of four huddled together for two days and nights.
For the first time in history, the water rose so quickly that the whole family did not have time to escape and held out in the house. As the water rose, they put their belongings on the roof. At 2 a.m. on November 20, in the darkness torn by the roaring rain and wind, a wall suddenly collapsed. Lan's whole family scrambled to climb onto the roof. The cold wind blew into their faces, the water rose hour by hour, all four people panicked and called for help everywhere. After a day and night of clinging to the roof, the nearly 90-year-old grandmother shivered from time to time, her body began to weaken from hunger, cold, and fear...
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| Military forces deliver relief goods to isolated areas for people. Photo: T.Huong |
“At that time, I just thought my family wouldn’t make it,” Lan choked up. The four of them sat on the roof, in the pitch-black night, not knowing how long the rain would last, nor whether rescue would be able to reach them.
In the most desperate moment, light came. Around 1am on November 21, from afar, flashlights began to flash. Voices of people calling, the sound of motorboats could be heard. Lan clearly remembered the feeling of her heart “wanting to jump out of her chest”, “I knew my family had been saved”, Lan choked up.
“The water swirled strongly and the wind blew fiercely. The men steadfastly moved towards our family, without a second of hesitation, approaching the roof to help each person down to the canoe. They kept encouraging us, our family felt warm and very grateful,” Lan said emotionally.
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| Authorities responded promptly and brought people from flooded areas to safety. Photo: T.Huong |
After nearly an hour of struggling in the middle of the night, in the vast sea of water, the rescue team was able to bring the whole family to the headquarters of the People's Committee of Hoa Tri commune (old) to take care of their health. They were soaked, their lips were purple from the cold, but everyone was safe.
The moment I stepped off the boat and looked back at the figures in their wet shirts still turning back to the deep water to rescue other families, I understood the full meaning of the two words "silent sacrifice".
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| People were moved and happy to be rescued promptly. Photo: T.Huong |
In Tuy An Bac and Tuy An Dong communes, motorboats of military forces, police, and local authorities continuously went upstream to reach isolated residential areas. In many places, the water rose rapidly during the night, and soldiers carried the elderly, pregnant women, and children through the rushing water to safety.
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| Mr. Pham Tho Truong connected 20 rubber boats and volunteer rescue forces from various provinces to the flood-hit area to provide rescue. Photo: T.Quoi |
Lieutenant Colonel Vi Hong Son (Arms Depot Company 2, Logistics Department - Provincial Military Command), shared: “Upon receiving orders from superiors, the whole team immediately marched for the search and rescue mission. My team consisted of 5 people, with me directly driving the boat, one comrade in command and three comrades performing the rescue mission. On the afternoon of November 19, the boat launched on Ngan Son River, with the support of two local leaders, the boat began to enter the flooded areas of Tuy An Bac commune. The group tried to approach a house with 4 people trapped under the foot of the bridge, including an 83-year-old man. After many times of probing the water, we were able to bring the whole family up the mountain safely. At that time, the water was too strong, each wave pushed the boat away, at times the current was so strong that the boat was almost sucked towards the dam. Just a little bit more and the boat could have crashed into Ha Yen dam, fortunately the team discovered it in time and handled it immediately.”
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| Volunteers from Team Bang Toc and SOS Ha Tinh provide food to people who are taking shelter from the flood on their roofs. Photo: T. Quoc |
In the following days, the team continued to participate in rescue and transport food and water supplies to hundreds of households isolated in floodwaters. The tears of the people when they were rescued in time, the sincere thanks of the sisters, aunts and uncles... when receiving relief goods after a long day of deprivation, were the strength for us to work day and night alongside the people.
After that, when the water began to recede, his team immediately went ashore to help clean up and clear the roads so that relief vehicles could enter in time. On the afternoon of November 21, Lieutenant Colonel Vi Hong Son took on a new task, bringing another ship to Hoa Tam to help the local authorities rescue the people here. And at this time, the main task was to prepare water pumps to help clean up trash and mud, quickly returning clean ground to the people.
Along with the regular forces of the army, police, militia and local authorities, a force that contributed significantly to rescuing people in the flood were volunteer rescue teams from other provinces.
When hearing the news that the eastern localities of Dak Lak were deeply submerged in floodwaters, people called for help on social networks, and immediately many volunteer teams from provinces and cities such as Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thai Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City... simultaneously set out towards the flood center. They proactively used canoes, rubber boats, motorized rafts... and even people.
Specialized rescue teams such as the Da Nang rescue team, the team of the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Eastern Dak Lak, the Bang Toc team (Nghe An), the SOS Ha Tinh team, etc. worked all day and night to rescue people in deep flooded areas and whirlpools in the areas: Dong Xuan, Tuy An, Tuy Hoa, Dong Hoa, Phu Hoa... They returned at 2 a.m., soaked, with purple lips from the cold.
Mr. Nguyen Cong Thanh, Chairman of Tuy Hoa Ward People's Committee, said: "Volunteers from provinces and cities have contributed greatly, promptly provided support, and brought many people in the flood zone to safety. We are deeply moved and grateful for your spirit of volunteerism, rushing into danger to rescue people."
As the water gradually receded, soldiers, police, and volunteers continued to bring food, drinking water, and necessities to people in isolated areas, transport relief goods, support cleaning, and help people gradually stabilize their lives...
“As soon as we received the order, we deployed all our forces without delay, mobilizing a total of 13,630 soldiers, including 427 soldiers from ministerial-level units, 11,990 soldiers from the Dak Lak Provincial Military Command and 1,212 soldiers from Military Region units; along with a large-scale vehicle force with 89 cars, 6 specialized vehicles, 60 canoes, boats and 2 helicopters to clear the way, overcome the strong currents to reach the people.” Colonel Tran Quang Tam, Deputy Commander of the Provincial Military Command.
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/thoi-su/202511/xuyen-dem-vuot-song-xe-nuoc-vao-vung-co-lap-cuu-dan-8f515d5/
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