Widespread major damage
As of October 2, Thanh Hoa has recorded six deaths and six injuries due to the recent storms and rain. Tens of thousands of houses, nearly 200 schools, health stations, and cultural houses were flooded and damaged. Almost 17,000 hectares of rice, crops, and forestry trees, along with hundreds of tonnes of foodstuffs, salt, and aquatic products, were completely lost.
Up to 3,844 hectares of aquaculture were flooded, resulting in the loss of 23 tonnes of fish and more than 2.3 million shrimp seedlings, while hundreds of boats have been sunk or damaged. Many families have been devastated by lost property.
In Quang Phu Ward, Nguyen Thi Tram’s family has 16 hectares of aquaculture outside the dyke that have been completely flooded.
“We had just harvested 300 million VND before the storm and flood hit. Now we have to reinforce the embankment and clean the ponds to restart production,” she recounted.
In Tien Trang Commune, large waves and high tides caused flooding in schools and boarding kitchens, severely damaging furniture and computers, with estimated losses exceeding 700 million VND. Soon after waters have receded, authorities mobilise teams to disinfect and clean schools to welcome students back soon.
Typhoon Bualoi also severely damaged the transport system in Thanh Hoa. According to the provincial Department of Construction, there are 86 instances of landslides and flooding obstructing national and provincial roads.
On National Route 16, 10 metres of Son Thuy Bridge has been broken and must be temporarily reinforced. Many fords and landslide points still require guarding and warnings, strictly prohibiting people and vehicles from passing until declared safe.
At midday on October 2, rescue boats were still cutting through vast flooded fields of two hamlets, Ngoc Nuoc and Dinh Thanh (Kim Tan Commune), delivering essential supplies to isolated households.
As a low-lying area along the Buoi River, most villages in Kim Tan were submersed due to floodwater.
Vu Van Quan, a resident of Kim Tan Commune, said: “All my family’s newly planted sugarcane, bananas, and rice are flooded, with estimated damages reaching 100 million VND.”
According to Quach Thi Tuoi, Chairwoman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Kim Tan Commune, before the flood, functional forces had supported locals moving assets, but the water rose too fast, causing great losses. More than 8,000 residents in the commune remain isolated.
“The most urgent request now is ensuring clean water and food for people temporarily staying at evacuation sites,” she stressed.
According to the latest statistics, 38 out of 48 hamlets in Kim Tan Commune are flooded, affecting 2,235 households. By the afternoon of October 2, 1,865 households with 7,685 people had been evacuated to safe places.
However, 22 hamlets remain cut off, with road transport almost paralysed. The floods also claimed one life when a vehicle overturned on the road.
Functional forces in Thanh Hoa Province have inspected dykes and stand watch 24/7 at vulnerable points.
Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Chairman of Kim Tan Commune People’s Committee, reported that functional forces have inspected dykes and stand watch 24/7 at vulnerable points.
“We also operate drainage sluices to protect agricultural areas and winter crops just planted. Six reservoirs in the area have overflowed but remain temporarily safe; only Dong Nga Reservoir shows signs of degradation and requires close monitoring,” he said.
Facing constant levels above Alarm Level 3 downstream of the Buoi River, Mai Xuan Liem, Vice Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee, ordered Kim Tan Commune authorities to continue evacuating residents according to warnings, patrol and guard dykes, and prepare for dyke reinforcement.
He also required the arrangement of temporary housing, provision of food and drinking water, ensuring that no one suffers hunger or cold.
Not only have mountainous and riverbank areas been devastated, the coastline of Hai Tien has also been damaged due to the storm. Large waves battered breakwaters for hours, breaking sections and throwing massive concrete blocks around.
The newly renovated coastal road is now riddled with potholes, sand, and rocks. On the sandy beach, uprooted casuarina trees lie strewn about, while the roofs of many restaurants and hotels have been blown away, forming distorted piles.
Business owner Cao Kim Hien remains stunned: “Everything was destroyed overnight. I had just invested several hundred million VND into my business.”
Joining hands together to overcome the consequences.
Along with Kim Tan and Hai Tien, many other localities are urgently working to stabilise lives.
Thanh Hoa Province has mobilised more than 45,000 officials and soldiers, along with numerous vehicles, to evacuate over 48,000 people.
The forces promptly rescued three people who were swept away by the floods, handled 13 dyke incidents, and began repairing coastal embankment landslides.
Colonel Pham Van Sam, Political Commissar of the Provincial Military Command, reported that thousands of officers, soldiers, and militia members have helped evacuate nearly 20,000 people and transported thousands of essential supplies and medicines to isolated areas.
In this difficult period of time, the spirit of mutual support in Thanh Hoa has spread strongly.
The Red Cross Society and charitable organisations have distributed nearly 10,000 bottles of water, 12,000 boxes of milk, and thousands of meals and emergency rations to flood-affected people.
The health sector has provided 130,000 disinfection tablets and 460 kg of Chloramine B, proactively preventing disease after floods. Localities urgently repaired houses with damaged roofs, cleaned environments, and disinfected water sources.
We mobilise all resources to ensure families have safe shelters and quickly stabilise their lives.
Tran Anh Tuyen, Chairman of the Hoang Giang Commune People’s Committee
Tran Anh Tuyen, Chairman of the Hoang Giang Commune People’s Committee, said that over 300 households have suffered house damage from tornadoes, including three that have completely collapsed.
“We mobilise all resources to ensure families have safe shelters and quickly stabilise their lives,” he asserted.
Functional sectors have actively and simultaneously taken actions addressing the aftermath.
The agriculture sector swiftly reviewed flooded areas and prepared crop seeds and livestock for people to resume planting and husbandry.
The education and health sector focused on repairing infrastructure, cleaning schools, disinfecting water sources, and ensuring uninterrupted schooling and timely medical care.
From Kim Tan to Hai Tien, from the mountains to the coast, the shared efforts of the Thanh Hoa provincial authorities and people are turning determination into concrete actions to soon overcome the losses caused by Typhoon Bualoi.
