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| Reporters Nguyen Ngoc and Hoai Anh ( Thai Nguyen Newspaper) work at Tuc Duyen Primary School (Thai Nguyen City). |
The storm has not arrived yet, but the leopard has entered the battle.
As soon as information about storm YAGI could affect the Northern midland region, the Electronic Newspaper Department, Thai Nguyen Newspaper activated the storm duty mode. We assigned people to closely monitor meteorological bulletins, prepare warning content, and coordinate with functional forces to provide information on natural disaster prevention and control to the people as soon as possible.
Detailed forecasts, analysis of the storm's path, vulnerable areas, landslide and flooding risks are continuously updated on Thai Nguyen Electronic Newspaper and social media platforms. Each special weather report broadcast attracts tens of thousands of followers. However, what each member of the production team cares about is not the number of views or interactions, but only the hope that people can access the information, understand the danger of YAGI and have enough time to prepare.
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| Each reporter is ready to receive and complete the assigned task. In the photo: Reporter Hoai Anh working in the rain and flood. |
The night of September 8 was an unforgettable night. At 11pm, the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue reported that the water level of the Cau River had reached alert level 3 - an extremely dangerous threshold. Immediately, hundreds of officers and soldiers were mobilized to 5 vulnerable dike sections, about 300m long, to urgently reinforce the dike, mobilize pumps, sacks, and stone cages to block the water flow.
Our team brought cameras, phones, life jackets, and microphones and immediately went to Song Cau dike to livestream the disaster prevention and control work. The number of comments and shares increased rapidly. Seeing the messages: "Thanks to Thai Nguyen newspaper's information, my family was able to move to higher ground in time" gave the field reporters more motivation to "fight the flood".
Sharing the same trench with flood control forces
Early morning of September 9, messages in the Zalo group of the Electronics room were pouring in: "My house is flooded more than 1 meter deep"; "No electricity, no water, the signal is too weak"; "The whole Tuc Duyen area is isolated, the road to the editorial office is flooded nearly half a meter"... Most of the reporters in the room were in the "flood center". Houses were flooded, roads were cut off, but no one abandoned their duties.
We divided into groups, some went to Phu Luong, some went to Dong Hy, some stayed in Thai Nguyen City to record the actual situation. There was no phone signal, no internet - reporters had to move to higher places to send news, photos, videos to the editorial office. Thai Nguyen Newspaper's e-newspaper and social networks were still lit up regularly. Many readers sent messages of thanks: "Without the Newspaper, we wouldn't know what the situation was like to take precautions."
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| Reporter Lang Khoa (Thai Nguyen Newspaper) recorded at the flood center. |
During the days of Typhoon YAGI, I saw one thing very clearly: The press does not stand on the sidelines in the fight against natural disasters. We worked side by side with the army, police, militia, and volunteers - present at the hot spots, recording the most tense and touching moments. I once stood next to the police, army, and militia soldiers with red eyes from lack of sleep: "Everyone is exhausted, my friend, but the people still trapped in the flood, we cannot rest yet."
I also recorded images of rescue groups and volunteers continuously wading in floodwaters to supply food to isolated residential areas or free kitchens continuously "on fire" to cook rice, porridge, vermicelli, and noodles to send to people in flooded areas.
Thousands and tens of thousands of hearts turned to Thai Nguyen. The spirit of solidarity, comradeship, and mutual love was strengthened and spread strongly. The images reached the public through the press - spreading a strong message about humanity, the will and determination of a Thai Nguyen determined to "strive and unite to overcome natural disasters".
Storytelling after the flood
By September 12, when the sky gradually cleared and the water began to recede slowly, we continued to “stand by”. After the storm passed, property damage amounted to over 780 billion VND; over 25,800 households had to be urgently evacuated; nearly 10,000 hectares of crops were flooded and damaged; 160 traffic points were eroded… News summarizing the damage, reports on relief work, production restoration, and flood-fighting initiatives were continuously updated. The Electronic Room remained lit all night long, no one dared to be negligent.
“The most important task at this time is for all forces, party organizations, authorities, unions and people to immediately overcome the consequences of storm No. 3”. Following the direction of Provincial Party Secretary Trinh Viet Hung, the entire political system mobilized all forces to quickly overcome traffic and irrigation incidents; ensure necessities, provide clean water and implement disinfection measures in residential areas and schools, ensuring people's health.
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| Reporters are regularly present at hot spots to provide the most authentic information and images about floods. In the photo: Provincial police officers assist residents of Quang Vinh ward (Thai Nguyen city) in evacuating from flooded areas during the September 2024 floods. |
We are on the road again! In localities that suffered heavy damage such as Thai Nguyen City, Phu Luong, Phu Binh, Pho Yen, etc., the group of reporters stayed close to the area and coordinated with the authorities, rescue forces, and working groups to report on the actual situation. Contents such as: free support points for necessities; the number of landslide points that cannot be cleared, areas that are still isolated or schools that need help with cleanup are continuously updated on the website and digital platforms of the Newspaper to help authorities grasp the situation, while creating an information bridge for volunteer organizations and donors who want to support. Since then, hundreds of shares have been shared and many organizations have directly contacted the hot spots thanks to timely information provided by the press.
In addition to reporting on the scene, we also synthesize and analyze damage data from authorities, creating intuitive, easy-to-share infographics. Some quick interviews with local leaders, relief units or people in the affected areas are also conducted to reflect multi-dimensional...
Working as a journalist during the flood was both urgent and stressful; we were both worried about our assignments and our families. But most of all, we understood that if we were not present at the scene, the information would not reach those who needed it. And in many moments amidst the flood, we understood even more that we were living up to our chosen profession: recording the truth, reflecting the most authentic breath of life.
Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202506/giua-lu-du-song-cung-dong-tin-e653add/
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