Flood victims in Thai Nguyen climb roofs to beg for bottles of water

Thai Nguyen city is full of water - Photo: NGUYEN HOAN

On the morning of October 8, floodwaters submerged tens of thousands of houses in communes and wards along the Cau River. In some places, the water was up to 4 meters deep. With no electricity or phone signal, people climbed onto their roofs to wait for rescue, begging for bottles of water and packets of noodles.

Climbing to the roof to avoid the flood

Last night, the Cau River rose so quickly that people in Phan Dinh Phung, Dong Quang, and Gia Sang wards did not have time to escape. After only 5 hours, the water rose to the level of people's heads, and the streets were flooded.

Mr. Hoang Van Thang's family, in group 4, Gia Sang ward, Thai Nguyen province , has 5 people, crowded with belongings on the 2nd floor for 2 days now. Lacking food and clean water, he brought buckets and basins in the house to collect rainwater for use.

On the morning of October 8, he called for a rescue team to come and take his elderly mother, wife and two children to safety. He said that since the night of October 6, the whole family had called each other to move their belongings up high.

Gia Sang ward residents climb out onto the porch to ask for water and instant noodles - Photo: VU TUAN

"Last year, the flood peak after Typhoon Yagi flooded my house up to my knees. We heard the forecast that the flood could exceed half a meter, so we moved the refrigerator onto the dining table, the washing machine, and the TV onto the top of the cabinet. Unexpectedly, the water flooded almost the entire first floor, and all the furniture, food, etc. were flooded and covered in mud," said Mr. Thang.

In Mr. Thang’s neighborhood, most people did not have time to escape the flood. Cars, refrigerators, furniture, etc. were floating. Whenever a rescue boat passed by, people climbed onto the roof, hung out in the hallway, and held out their hands to ask for water.

Thai Nguyen people share bags of food during the flood - Photo: VU TUAN

Mr. Ngo Van Luyen, Tan Cuong commune (Thai Nguyen province), and a group of friends heard about the rising floodwaters and gathered together to form a rescue team. They pooled money to buy food, milk, and drinking water and then used a motorboat to take them to the isolated area.

"We prioritize saving people first. Wherever people cry for help, we arrive first and move them to a safe area. On the way, if any house needs relief, we only help them with a few bottles of water and a few packs of noodles," said Mr. Luyen.

Mr. Luyen's group's rescue boat ran continuously. They ate bread and drank milk to survive. By the end of the morning, they had made three trips, safely transporting more than a dozen people.

Other families stopped their boats near their houses, tied gifts to strings, or tossed them onto the roofs. Some swam out to midstream to receive individual packages and bottles of water.

Thousands of households in flood-affected areas lack food and drinking water - Photo: VU TUAN

Thousands of households are isolated, awaiting rescue.

Early this morning, flood water on Cau River measured at Gia Bay Hydrological Station (Gia Sang Ward) was at 29.90m, exceeding alarm level 3 by about 2.90m, exceeding the historical flood peak after storm Yagi in 2024 by 1.09m. Many places in Vo Nhai, Tan Long, Gia Sang... were flooded up to the first floor. Some places were flooded up to the second floor.

Gia Sang ward residents carry foam boxes to ask for relief items - Photo: VU TUAN

People texted for help, waiting for relief. They lacked food, water, electricity, and signal. Most of the rescue information and current location were given by relatives elsewhere.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dat, from group 5, Tuc Duyen ward, is studying in Hanoi and took a bus to Thai Nguyen to find information about his family. He said the last time he contacted his family was in the early morning of October 7. "At that time, my house was almost completely flooded on the first floor. Now the water is this high... I don't know if my family has been rescued yet..." - Mr. Dat choked up.

A quick lunch on the rescue boat - Photo: VU TUAN

According to the Thai Nguyen Province Civil Defense Command, there are still many residential areas that rescue teams cannot reach because of the strong currents. Members have mobilized boats, rafts, vehicles... to rescue and provide relief non-stop for the past few days.

Currently, many volunteer rescue groups from other provinces have brought boats and food to support Thai Nguyen people.

Father and son just escaped the terrifying days of flood avoidance - Photo: VU TUAN

Ambulance waiting for rescue in Thai Nguyen flood - Photo: VU TUAN

Four family members in the flooded Gia Sang area were rescued by local people - Photo: VU TUAN

Damage caused by the historic flood in Thai Nguyen cannot be counted yet - Photo: VU TUAN

Lucky pigs take shelter on car roofs during the flood - Photo: VU TUAN

Rescue forces work non-stop to help people avoid floods - Photo: VU TUAN

Streets in Thai Nguyen flooded "unprecedentedly"

At least 45 communes and wards with more than 5,000 households in Thai Nguyen were isolated and deeply flooded by historic floods caused by the circulation after storm Matmo (storm No. 11).

The flood rose so quickly and at a historic high level that many residential areas and people in low-lying areas along the Cau River could not escape in time, were isolated, and trapped in their deeply submerged houses due to the heavy flood.

Residential area in Thai Nguyen submerged in floodwaters on the morning of October 8 - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

Rescue forces rescue people trapped by floods - Photo: Thai Nguyen Police

Quick statistics from Thai Nguyen province as of 5am on October 8 showed that at least 45 communes and wards were flooded, causing widespread power outages.

Military Region 1, the Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Police, agencies, units, and localities mobilized thousands of officers, soldiers, militia, security and order forces, youths, along with many cars, motorboats, rescue equipment, etc. to approach isolated and deeply flooded areas to "rescue" stranded people to safety and support the evacuation of property from dangerous areas.

According to the assessment of Thai Nguyen province authorities, this is a "natural disaster on top of natural disaster" and the circulation of storm Matmo has caused an unprecedented impact in Thai Nguyen.

The Standing Committee of Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee has requested the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province, based on the actual situation of the impact of storm Matmo and current regulations, to consider issuing a decision to declare a natural disaster emergency to urgently handle the response to rain and floods in the area.

Due to the influence of the circulation after storm Matmo and the convergence of meridional winds, in Thai Nguyen there was especially heavy rain from the night of October 6 to the morning of October 7 - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

In Thai Nguyen, there were places where it rained up to 500mm within about 12 hours, causing the flood on the Cau River section passing through Thai Nguyen to rise very quickly - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

Floodwaters reached the roof of the first floor - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

Dormitory area, stadium of Thai Nguyen University of Education - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

Thai Nguyen University of Education area - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

Floodwaters surround the center of Thai Nguyen province - Photo: KHAC LE DUY

Rescue forces brought people in flooded areas to safety on the morning of October 8 - Photo: VU TUAN

Quick statistics of Thai Nguyen province as of 5am on October 8 showed 4 people dead, 2 missing, 2 injured due to floods - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

In the communes of Vo Nhai, Trang Xa, Dan Tien, Trai Cau, Nam Hoa, Hop Tien, Linh Son, Phan Dinh Phung, Quan Trieu, Van Lang and some other areas... the river water rose, many residential areas were isolated - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

Many areas suffered landslides and many traffic routes were flooded and cut off. The Provincial Military Command and Provincial Police coordinated with local authorities and local forces to support and rescue people in dangerous and isolated flooded areas to safety - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

By the morning of October 8, the flood on Cau River began to recede slowly - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

Flooding in Thai Nguyen is forecast to last for the next 3-4 days - Photo: LE DUY KHAC

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting on the morning of October 8, the flood on Cau River (Thai Nguyen) at Gia Bay station peaked at 29.9m (at 3am), about 2.9m above alert level 3 and 1.09m above the historical level in 2024 (28.81m).

The flood is now receding slowly. By 10am on October 8, the flood water had receded 0.22m from its peak.

Previously, due to the influence of the circulation after storm Matmo and the convergence of meridional winds, in Thai Nguyen there was especially heavy rain during the night until the morning of October 7, in some places up to 500mm within about 12 hours, causing the flood on the Cau River section through Thai Nguyen province to rise very quickly.

Data from the Vietnam natural disaster monitoring system shows that within 12 hours (from 1:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on October 7), the flood on the Cau River, passing Gia Bay Bridge, rose 5.33 meters and in the next 12 hours, the flood rose another 1.21 meters.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dan-vung-lu-thai-nguyen-leo-mai-nha-xin-tung-chai-nuoc-20251008134659516.htm#content-13