NGHỆ AN — Na Ngan Hamlet in Nga My Commune, Nghe An Province, has been completely cut off since September 29, after landslides and flash floods swept away temporary wooden bridges.
The hamlet, home to 153 households with 730 residents, all of them of Thai ethnicity, lies 24km from the commune centre along a single dirt road skirting Pu Hieng Mountain deep in the Pu Huong forest.
On the afternoon of October 4, after hours of trekking through forests, climbing steep slopes, crossing streams and negotiating dozens of landslide sites, a team of nearly ten local officials finally reached the settlement. Initial reports recorded five houses damaged or destroyed, fish ponds and rice fields washed away, a prolonged power outage since Typhoon Bualoi due to broken electricity poles, and the loss of a key bridge dividing the community.
Cut off from outside support, villagers may run out of food within the coming ten days. VNS
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| Residents struggle to carry heavy loads across the stream after wooden bridges were swept away by floods. VNA/VNS Photos Xuân Tiến |
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| Several houses built under the programme to replace dilapidated homes in the hamlet remain without roofs, as road damage from Typhoon No. 5 has prevented construction materials from being brought in. |
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| The Nậm Ngân Stream has eroded nearly ten metres of riverbank in the middle of the hamlet, leaving one house at serious risk of collapse. |
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| Flash floods and mudslides have eroded nearly ten metres of the Nậm Ngân Stream’s bank, completely altering the landscape along the water’s edge. |
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| Residents clear mud that spilled into their homes after a landslide from the uphill slope. |
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| Adults carry children across a large wooden beam laid over the Nậm Ngân Stream, where a wooden bridge was swept away by floods. |
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| With the hamlet left without electricity for many days, several households have resorted to using water-powered generators for lighting. |
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| Rice ready for harvest lies flattened and buried in mud after flash floods swept through. |
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| Villagers help each other carry motorbikes across the Nậm Ngân Stream. |
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