Upon arriving in Tien Thanh Hamlet, Con Cuong Commune, Nghe An Province, Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper’s reporters found clear skies and receding floodwaters, which had left behind a thick layer of mud blanketing roads, fields, and homes. Many belongings lay buried and damaged in the sludge.
Seizing the brief window before new rains, residents—assisted by local authorities, mass organizations, and emergency units—were racing to clear the mud, remove debris, and salvage what they could from their homes.
The villagers remained visibly shaken by what they described as a “historic” flood that had devastated property. Recovery was proving painfully slow; the sheer volume of mud meant cleanup could take several weeks.
As she sifted through household items buried under layers of mud and waste, Tran Thi Le Hang, 42, a resident of Tien Thanh Hamlet, recounted with anguish how the deluge struck with terrifying speed and without warning. “We only had time to evacuate the family to Pu Mat National Park; everything else was lost or destroyed,” she said. “When the water receded, we returned to find our home submerged in nearly a meter of sludge. We estimate our losses at nearly VND2 billion (US$80,000).”
She added tearfully, “My husband and I borrowed heavily from the bank to open an electric bicycle and wood furniture shop along National Highway 7. Now it’s all gone. Mud covers everything; it will take at least a week to ten days just to clear our home. We’re left with nothing but debt, and I don’t know when or how we’ll ever recover.”
A few dozen paces away, Nguyen Minh Duc, 22, faced similar devastation. His modest home remained swamped in knee-deep mud, with the waterline still visible on the roof and brick walls. “The floodwaters rose so suddenly and reached record levels, submerging our home,” Duc recalled. “We managed to evacuate in time, but now every corner of our property—from the house to the yard and livestock pens—is caked in mud. We don’t know when we’ll be able to make it livable again.”
For now, his family was taking shelter in a neighbor’s home on higher ground. “Our rice, food, and drinking water were all ruined. What we urgently need is assistance from emergency crews with machinery to remove the mud and clean up. After that, we’ll need food, clean water, and basic supplies,” Duc said.
At the home of Phan Cong Vien, 42, located between National Highway 7 and the Ca River, the scene was equally dire: knee-deep mud filled every room, while large sections of brick walls had collapsed under the force of the floodwaters. Vien, soaked and caked in mud, his face gaunt from days of relentless labor, continued to work alongside neighbors to clear debris.
“I’ve never seen a flood of this scale in my life,” Vien said. “Nearly every household in the hamlet suffered severe damage. Thankfully, we managed to get our two children to safety. For now, relatives and neighbors are helping us clean up, but in the coming days we hope for more support from authorities and the community to repair the damage and return to normal life.”
Later that evening, Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Chairman of the Con Cuong Commune People’s Committee, told SGGP that local authorities and mass organizations had immediately mobilized cleanup operations as soon as the rain subsided and waters receded. “In Tien Thanh alone, aside from local teams, about 60 officers from the provincial police and military command joined the effort,” he said. “In the coming days, emergency crews will continue assisting residents in restoring their homes and stabilizing their lives.”
