"The school was damaged by flood water, students don't know where to start"

On the morning of October 10, floodwaters in the central area of Thai Nguyen province and many neighboring communes and wards have receded. Thousands of people and authorities... concentrated on cleaning up the rubble and mud left behind to revive the lives of people in the flooded areas here.

At Trung Vuong Secondary School (Phan Dinh Phung Ward, Thai Nguyen Province), more than 100 officers and soldiers of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Military Command, along with officers, teachers and volunteer students from Hanoi, are urgently cleaning up mud and washing tables and chairs to prepare for students to return to school and start a new school week.

In the school yard, where tables and chairs were covered in mud, principal Vu Thu Huong was cleaning the yard and tables and chairs, choking up: "Students are about to go back to school, but the school was damaged by floodwaters, we don't know where to start."

Ms. Huong never thought she would encounter such a big flood as the past few days. The school is located in a fairly high area, even though the 2024 typhoon Yagi was so big, the floodwaters only reached the gate, and people in the surrounding area even brought their cars into the school yard to avoid the flood.

But this year, the water poured in so quickly from the night of October 6 to the morning of October 7 that people could not respond in time, and no one at the school could do anything, Ms. Huong's voice choked up.

According to the principal, the water rose more than 2 meters, causing the school to have 19 classrooms and offices, but the flood submerged 14 rooms on the first floor, including 7 classrooms and 7 offices. School supplies, computers, printers, televisions, filing cabinets and teaching equipment were submerged in floodwater for many days.

The principal said that the school has a row of classrooms that were built more than 40 years ago. The walls are very weak and have been submerged in water for many days, so there is a fear that the classrooms will collapse at any time. The school has 44 staff and teachers, more than 70% of whom had their houses flooded by floodwaters and are having to clean up with their families.

Through Dan Tri newspaper, Ms. Huong hopes to receive attention and help from authorities and philanthropists so that the school and students can soon stabilize their studies.

Located on Hoang Van Thu Street, one of the most heavily flooded areas in Phan Dinh Phung Ward, May 19 Kindergarten was also devastated by floodwaters. This morning, soldiers from the 382nd Artillery Brigade (Military Region I) actively helped clean up trash and mud from the school yard.

According to the representative of the 19/5 Kindergarten, the terrible flood rose more than 2 meters high, submerging 16 classrooms and teachers' offices in a sea of water. All tables, chairs, cabinets, machines, and learning equipment were damaged. The estimated damage was about 5 billion VND.

On the afternoon of October 6, when seeing the heavy rain, teachers and security guards in the school proactively placed all school supplies and equipment on the table. But on the night of October 6 and the early morning of October 7, the flood came too quickly, submerging all the classrooms on the first floor.

The school has 77 teachers, more than 50 of whom had their homes submerged by the flood. Teachers whose families were not affected by the flood all came to school to help clean up and overcome the aftermath of the flood to start the new school week.

Ms. Duong Thi Hoang Ha (4-5 year old class teacher) said that on the afternoon of October 9, when she, her husband and eldest son opened the classroom door, the whole family was stunned to see the children's books, school supplies and toys soaked in half a meter of mud.

Earlier, on the night of October 8, her husband waded through neck-deep water to get to the school, promptly moving computers from four classrooms and some files to the top of cabinets to avoid the water. This morning, her husband stayed home to clean the house, while she and her two children returned to the school to collect and clean anything that could still be used.

The children's playground in the school yard was also covered in mud after the floodwaters receded.

Captain Hoang Trung Bien, Head of Staff Group No. 2 (Capital Mobile Police Regiment, Mobile Police Command) said that the unit has mobilized 200 officers and soldiers along with many vehicles to Thai Nguyen to support people in flood-affected areas to overcome the consequences.

At May 19 Kindergarten alone, 25 officers and soldiers were assigned to clean up trash and mud with the goal of completing it before October 13 so that students could return to class soon.

According to Captain Bien, the workload was huge, in addition to the mud and rubbish left behind, there was also the need to clean up damaged desks, chairs, cabinets, and beds of the children. Along with the school teachers and the CSCĐ force, soldiers of the 12th Corps (Ministry of National Defense) also joined hands to help.

At the student dormitory of Thai Nguyen University of Education, the scene after the flood receded became devastated, the school yard was covered with a thick layer of yellow mud.

Many personal belongings of students such as books, clothes, computers, wardrobes, bunk beds, etc. were soaked in water, broken, and damaged.

Many rooms had to be completely stripped of furniture for cleaning, deodorizing, and drying. A gloomy, desolate atmosphere pervaded the entire dormitory.

Recalling the moment when floodwaters suddenly flooded the first floor of the dormitory, Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa (a fourth-year student from Ninh Binh) only had time to grab her laptop and three sets of shorts and run out of the dormitory to rent a temporary room.

Hoa was stunned when she returned to the muddy mess in her room. Her school supplies and personal belongings were all broken and beyond repair.

This afternoon, people and authorities of Thai Nguyen province continued to clean up mud and garbage left on the streets, in buildings and houses to stabilize life after the flood.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/truong-lop-bi-nuoc-lu-ngap-hu-hong-het-hoc-sinh-biet-bat-dau-tu-dau-20251010142248983.htm