Floods destroy crops, schools and lives
Drying rice under the sun is a job that always makes Cao
Thi Nhi happy, the final step following months of labour in her paddy. But
today, her work is torture for her because she’s drying the last sack of rice
left in the aftermath of recent Tropical Storm Mirinae and the floods it left in
its wake in Viet Nam’s central region.
The floods swept away everything belonging to Nhi’s family,
except for a few coconut palms and the foundation of their house.
Sitting on the ground and holding her young son, Nhi said in
tears that she found the sack of wet rice on the ground after the flood.
"The rice had sprouted and was covered in mud, but I have to dry
it to keep my family living for the next few days," she said.
Nhi is one of 300 families suffering the same plight in the
village of Tan Binh, in the central province of Phu Yen’s Dong Xuan District.
"My village is separated from other areas by the Ha Bang River,"
Nhi said. "No one from the outside has been able to reach us until now. Many
local families still have nothing to eat. Helicopters yesterday threw several
boxes of instant noodles for us but it’s like salt poured into the sea."
Ten days after the floods subsided, the area still appears
devastated, with traces of hundreds of collapsed houses along the roadways. Many
schools are still unable to reopen their doors because classrooms have been
damaged and or remain buried in mud. Many bridges have been swept away, and the
dead bodies of livestock and poultry float on the rivers.
Nguyen Hung, one of the other people lucky to have escaped with
their lives, said, in the past, it could rain for four or five days without
floods. This time, it rained for only one day, but everything was swept away,
said Hung, wondering aloud if the floods were due to years of deforestation in
the area.
The centre of Song Cau Town is located off National Highway 1A.
Residents there said that, when the storm came inland, they witnessed flood
levels rising minute-by-minute, making it impossible to evacuate in time.
According to Tuy An District People’s Committee vice chairman
Pham Thi Le, many were trapped and drowned in their homes before relief workers
could arrive. In An Dinh commune, communal leaders divided into groups to visit
local households, and they were shocked to discover Nguyen Van The and his wife
dead in their home.
"There were 27 people in our commune who died, including three
couples," said Le.
Huynh Dinh Thanh Tung and his wife Nguyen Thi My Ai made a
narrow escape in Xuan Phu ward but lost two children.
"Within an hour after the storm, water levels increased very
quickly," said Tung. "When my wife and I were gathering furniture to get our
children above the floodwaters, a current of water suddenly swamped us,
collapsing the house and sweeping all of us away."
Nguyen Van Sau, from the provincial Committee of Nationalities,
also said that dozens of graves were destroyed.
Statistics from the Phu Yen Flood and Storm Control Steering
Committee showed that the flood had killed nearly 80 people, destroyed about
1,400 homes and damaged 36,000 others. More than 58,000 households with 234,000
people – equivalent to 37 per cent of the population – were reportedly suffering
from hunger.
At least 3,900ha of rice was lost and thousands of hectares of
coffee, rubber, pepper, sugar cane and corn were also submerged. Total losses
were estimated at nearly VND3 trillion (US$162.2 million).
The director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids
and Social Affairs, Nguyen Van Lang, said the province had received aid worth
VND6.1 billion ($330,000) from domestic and international organisations, and
that the Government had given the province VND100 billion ($5.4 million) and
4,000 tonnes of rice to distribute to victims this week.
But, Lang said, together with rebuilding infrastructure, the
greatest challenge facing Phu Yen now was how to return children to school, with
many classrooms and much educational equipment lost to the flood.
Headmaster Nguyen Duc Trung of An Dinh Primary School in Tuy An
District said that his school was yet to reopen, the school grounds flooded with
mud, and the teachers struggling to clean up the mess.
At Xuan Son Bac Primary School in the mountain district of Dong
Xuan, 11 out of 13 classrooms had collapsed. Principal Ta Ngoc Son said he
expected classes to resume next week at the offices of the local People’s
Committee and the district’s cultural house.
"All textbooks and books were swept away. We hope to receive
donations from organisations to buy necessary books for students," said Son.
In a visit to flooded areas, Phu Yen Party Secretary Dao Tan Loc
called for support from donors and organisations to donate books and educational
equipment for teachers and students, including projectors and printers.
In a visit to adjoining Khanh Hoa Province last week, Party
General Secretary Nong Duc Manh also acknowledged the active efforts of the
province in moving people to safer areas. The province relocated over 19,000
people in 5,300 households engaged in shrimp-breeding along the coast.
In Van Ninh District, local authorities prevented untold
casualties by successfully persuading people to evacuate even though they were
reluctant to abandon their shrimp cages.
Many shrimp breeders suffered a complete loss. Of Khanh Hoa’s
total losses of VND380 billion ($20.5 million), over VND210 billion ($11.3
million) was in the district.
Manh agreed to urge banks to extend loan repayment terms for
breeders.
Although victims have received donations from the Government,
organisations and donors, many were now faced with immediate difficulties. A
campaign to collect rice and clothing for flood victims has commenced in
affected provinces, including Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh. — VNS