Rescue and relief work after floods. Photo: Document

At 3 a.m. on November 2, 1999, the phone rang. The person who woke me up was Mr. Le Quang Luy, Head of the Administration Department of Hue Television Station, who lives in Kim Long. Then, at about 5:30 a.m., Director of Hue Television Station Ngo Quang An called to inform: "The flood is entering the house. I can't go to the office, Huu Thu will take the initiative to handle it."

Minh Thuc was the first reporter to arrive at the office... Around 7 o'clock, except for those who lived far away and were stuck in the flood, most reporters were present. We consulted and paid in advance to rent a boat. Around 10 o'clock, the Huong River suddenly rose and turned Hanoi streets into rivers. I called and learned that the floodwaters at Phu Vang Medical Center rose to 1.8 meters. In many places, houses in the "flood center" were roofless. Many evacuated families did not have time to bring their belongings.

Collecting images from Area A (Ly Thuong Kiet Street), through fiber optic cable, Hue Television technicians were able to transmit the images to Hanoi . As for the content, I faxed it to the News Department of Vietnam Television as agreed. Thanks to that, the first images of the flood in Hue were broadcast on the afternoon news and that same evening. For the first time, VTV decided to carry out the "Hanoi - Hue TV Bridge" hosted by Editor Nguyen Thanh Lam.

First Fax on Flood Situation November 3, 1999

Just like that, the flood news in Hue and the Central region crept into offices, families, markets, schools and of course, even the highest-level meetings. The first images that Hue sent out that day were the "flood escape" scene at Dong Ba market, destroyed houses, broken doors from the upstream of the Huong River were swept away by the flood, Truong Tien bridge was submerged, Morin Hotel, Hung Vuong intersection turned into a river with boats, people wading through chest-high water...

Let's go back to the context of November 2, 1999. That morning, the Flood and Storm Prevention and Control Committee of Thua Thien Hue province (now Hue City) only had Chief of Office Mai Quang Hue and engineer Nguyen Van Hung. The Head of the Committee, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thua Thien Hue province (now Hue City) Le Van Hoang was stuck in A Luoi.

At exactly 12 noon, all landline telephones lost contact. The flood officially raged. To maintain command, comrades: Ngo Yen Thi, Ho Xuan Man, Nguyen Van Me, Bach Hien... decided to move the Flood Prevention and Control Command Headquarters to Hue Post Office on Hoang Hoa Tham Street. At exactly 3:00 p.m. on November 2, 1999, the "New Headquarters" officially came into operation. With 8 hotlines established, Hue Post Office promptly served the Forward Command in operating and directing, and it was thanks to this hotline that a live broadcast of the flood between Hue Television and Vietnam Television was set up at noon on November 3.

To serve the content of the live broadcast that day, I asked the Steering Committee to intervene. Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee (now Hue City Party Committee) Ho Xuan Man quickly wrote a few words on the urgent report: "Fax to Vietnam Television". Before sending it, I took the opportunity to update the situation at the end of the report to help the News Department of Vietnam Television handle it; while in Area A, under the direction of Deputy Director Nguyen Thai Binh, I took the opportunity to transmit the images that the news reporters had recorded. On this basis, from Hanoi, News Department Editor Nguyen Thanh Lam carefully recorded every detail and with his inspiration, he moved the audience nationwide.

Speaking of the live broadcast from the scene at noon on November 3, the Hue Television studio on Ly Thuong Kiet Street was flooded from noon on November 2 and had to stop operating. The power went out, the backup generator could not work, the whole Area A was in a panic, luckily we found a generator for the mobile TV vehicle. With no spare gas, the technicians used their motorbikes to operate. When the camera was turned off, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. For us, this was the most vivid scene, touching the hearts of the audience.

*

There is one thing that still gives me chills when I recall it. That was on the morning of November 2, 1999, because I directly observed the flood on Hanoi streets, my intuition told me that the water level would rise, so I proactively asked my colleagues to approach the Morin Hotel and if we stood on the rooftop, we would definitely capture a historic image: floodwaters overflowing Truong Tien Bridge. After setting out the goals and tasks, I only called for self-awareness because the flood was raging.

Surprisingly, all the reporters present, such as Ngoc Toan, Duong Chien, Ba Thanh, and Phu Thanh, volunteered. I paid in advance for the boat rental, and Ngoc Toan was in charge of the group. At exactly 10:30, the group set off. I estimated that at the latest, we would reach the target within an hour. But it was past noon, and we waited impatiently, but there was no news. It was not until dusk that the group slowly returned. When I asked, I realized that because they could not find a boat, the group walked. When they reached the intersection of Tran Cao Van and Pham Hong Thai streets, they encountered strong currents. Thanks to Ngoc Toan carrying a stick, we took turns helping each other and finally clung to the wall of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. The canoe of Deputy Commander of Hue City Police Dang Quang passed by and saw it and took us back.

Working continuously for 3 days, most of the news staff were exhausted. Deputy Director Nguyen Thai Binh asked the Column Department for support. On the morning of November 5, each relief team followed the boat to the key areas to provide relief. Quy Hoa recorded a "quite expensive" scene in the upper reaches of the Huong River. Due to hunger for a long time, a man soaked in water was chewing a pack of noodles with a dry mouth, instinctively holding out his hand to ask for more.

Finally, I would like to write a few lines about Ba Thanh - a resourceful and compassionate cameraman who passed away at a young age. I remember the first night while eating, Ba Thanh took his bowl of noodles out of the room. Out of curiosity, I followed him and found out that he shared his meal with Mrs. Theo in Truong An, a vendor at Dong Ba market, who was stuck in the flood and could not return home. Holding the bowl of noodles, Mrs. Theo said to Ba Thanh exactly three words, "Thank you, uncle!"

The terrible consequences of the historic flood of 1999 have been overcome over time, but for us - the journalists at Hue Television, thanks to our unity and cooperation, we have overcome the difficult time. There are people who work like real soldiers. I am very proud of them!

Pham Huu Thu

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/nho-tran-lu-kinh-hoang-1999-154738.html