CENTRAL REGION — Residents in central provinces of Hà Tĩnh and Quảng Bình said they are fed up with the repeated floods, with one occurred in October and another repeated from Monday. Floods also happenned in Quảng Trị on Tuesday and in Thừa Thiên - Huế today.

Nguyễn Viết Minh, a resident of Hòa Hải Commune in Hà Tĩnh, told a local newspaper that water engulfed his house just as he was bringing down his belongings from the attic after the October floods. “We are exhausted from hunger and from rushing around trying to save our belongings,” he said.

Lương Thanh Tấn, an official from Văn Hóa Commune in Quảng Bình, said he has spent no time with his family for almost three weeks now. “I had to take care of households in the commune during the October floods, then coordinate for the post-flood donation work, and now once again the commune has flooded. I am so tired,” he said.

Từ Thị Hòa, chairman of Father Front Committee in Hà Tĩnh’s Hương Khê Commune, is worried that locals don’t have the strength to cope with this November flood.

People living in the four provinces have had a tough few months now. Before the flooding, in April, the four provinces were affected by Formosa’s toxic waste spill, which caused massive fish deaths, destroying the source of food and livelihood for millions of residents.

Incessant rainfall continued in Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên-Huế today. Several localities have got cut off because of the high levels of floodwater.

In Hà Tĩnh, more areas continue to flood as heavy rainfall has forced seven local reservoirs to release water. Local authorities said at least 1,080 houses have flooded, and some areas in Hương Khê District have become unreachable even by boat because of powerful floodwaters.

District authorities evacuated 47 families from Phương Mỹ Commune after floodwaters rose to rooftops and water levels rose as high as three metres.

Once again, Quảng Bình is the worst hit among the four provinces. Water has flooded 15,062 houses in three days, swept away 3,280 cattle and poultry, and damaged 200ha of rice and vegetables. Two people have died and another was reported missing on Tuesday. Six reservoirs in the province continue to release water with rain showing no signs of abating.

In Quảng Trị, a sudden, swift flood swept away 3,200 cows, pigs and chicken on Tuesday. One person has been reported missing, while five others were injured. A bridge has also collapsed, leaving 100 families in Dakrong District stranded.

At noon on Wednesday, all reservoirs in Thừa Thiên-Huế began to release water, three hours after they announced their plan to do so. Floodwater is expected to inundate low-lying areas in the Phong Điền, Quảng Điền, Hương Trà and Phú Vang districts.

The National Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention today deployed teams to the central region to monitor disaster prevention operations. — VNS