Quang Tri: Successfully rescued 5 people after 4 hours of struggling with strong flood currents

(Chinhphu.vn) - On the afternoon of August 30, the Quang Tri Provincial Police force coordinated to urgently rescue 5 people trapped in the middle of a flooded area in Hieu Giang commune, after more than 4 hours of fighting against the strong currents.

Provincial police force overcomes flood to rescue people

At noon of the same day, Huong Hiep Commune Police received an urgent report from relatives of five people who were working in the cajuput forest in Thuong Lam Village (Hieu Giang Commune) and were trapped due to the sudden rise of floodwaters, completely cutting off their return routes. These people had been holding out for nearly two days in the isolated area, with food running out and their lives in serious danger.

Immediately after receiving the information, Huong Hiep Commune Police coordinated with the Fire Prevention, Fire Fighting and Rescue Police Department ( Quang Tri Provincial Police) to deploy an emergency rescue plan. Using boats, 25 officers and soldiers crossed the raging floodwaters to reach the scene in harsh weather conditions.

After more than 4 hours of effort, the force successfully approached and rescued all 5 people (including: Ho Hoan, born in 1982, Ho Van Minh, born in 1987, Ho Van Diep born in 2002, residing in Huong Linh; Ho Van Thuc born in 1989 and Ho Van Linh born in 1999 residing in Huong Hiep).

After more than 4 hours of effort with 25 officers and soldiers participating, the force approached and successfully rescued all 5 people.

Floods and storms cut off and isolate many areas

On the afternoon of August 30, the Office of the Quang Tri Province Civil Defense Command said that due to the impact of storm No. 6, Quang Tri province experienced moderate to heavy rain, and in some places very heavy rain. The floods caused many traffic routes in Quang Tri province to be flooded, severely damaged, and cut off traffic.

Due to heavy rain, the DT.571 route through Ben Quan commune, Quang Tri province (the section through the old Vinh O) adjacent to the West branch of Ho Chi Minh road was washed away by floodwaters, currently traffic on the route is completely cut off. The road surface and slope at Km23+450 DT.571 were eroded, the negative slope was eroded deep into the roadbed, creating a frog-like shape. At the overflow location at Km25+750, the roadbed was eroded for 30 m, causing the traffic of people and vehicles to be completely blocked. Currently, people have to temporarily travel by cutting through trails and self-made paths.

According to information from the Traffic Management and Maintenance Board under the Department of Construction, due to the heavy rain from storm No. 6, in addition to route DT.571, on route DT.588a at the Ba Long spillway - Km11+240, the water level was about 40cm, causing traffic congestion. To ensure safety, the unit assigned people to set up checkpoints, stretch ropes, and put up signs to limit traffic; urgently arrange human resources and equipment to repair damaged areas when the weather is favorable.

Highway 571 through Ben Quan commune, adjacent to the West branch of Ho Chi Minh road, was washed away by floodwaters, cutting off traffic.

Floods on rivers in Quang Tri fluctuate at Alert Level 1 - 2

The Office of the Quang Tri Provincial Civil Defense Command said that due to heavy rain, water levels in rivers rose very quickly, especially in the upper reaches of rivers and at level 1 river branches in mountainous and midland areas; such as the upper reaches of Hieu River (measured at Dau Mau TV station) exceeded Alert Level 3.

Updated at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon, the water level of rivers in the province fluctuated above Alert Level 1; on Kien Giang River measured at Kien Giang station was 10.01 m, exceeding Alert Level 1 by 2.01 m; at Le Thuy it was 2.55 m, exceeding Alert Level 2 by 0.35 m.

QL9B has 2 flooded locations: at the underground Km41+900, Km43+700/QL9B, the water is 0.3-0.4m deep and people and vehicles cannot pass; DT 571 route at the spillway Km25+900 is flooded 1.5m; DT.588a Ba Long spillway - km11+240 is flooded 30cm; traffic is blocked; DT 559B route has 4 underground locations flooded from 0.3-0.4m at some locations.

As of 5:00 p.m. on August 30, some overflows have receded, such as Rao Ngon overflow in Phong Nha commune; flooded areas in Huong Lap, Tan Lap, and Con Tien communes have all been evacuated and people are able to move about normally. However, mud from the highway has been pouring into houses, roads, and gardens (in Con Tien commune).

However, in Quang Tri province, there are still 17 flooded, isolated and cut-off points. All deeply flooded traffic points have been barricaded and guarded to prevent people and vehicles from passing.

In Huong Lap commune, the West branch of Ho Chi Minh road has a landslide at Km175+200 with about 5m³ of rock and soil and 1 landslide and break at the spillway between Se Pu village and Cu Bai; Huong Phung - Lao Bao patrol road has a landslide at Km8+200, 30-40m³ of rock and soil, people and vehicles cannot pass (Huong Phung Border Post area).

The Office of the Provincial Civil Defense Command said that units and localities are closely monitoring the developments of storm No. 6 to promptly direct and deploy response measures and evacuate people according to each stage of the storm and floods. In particular, the urgent evacuation of people in areas at high risk of flooding, landslides and flash floods is given top priority, in order to ensure maximum safety for people's lives and property.

As of 5:00 p.m. on August 30, there were still 17 flooded, isolated, and cut-off points in Quang Tri province.

Evacuate 57 households/165 people out of the danger zone

Localities have evacuated 57 households/165 people from the dangerous area (Huong Lap commune: 2 households/7 people; Ben Quan commune: 22 households/85 people; Hieu Giang commune: 33 households/93 people.

Currently, reservoirs in the province are operating safely. The average capacity of 52 medium and large reservoirs is about 65.38% of the design capacity.

Today, Mr. Tran Phong, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Tri province, inspected the situation and directed the response to storm No. 6 and floods at key locations. Through the inspection, the Chairman of the People's Committee requested departments, branches, units and localities to proactively respond to floods caused by storm No. 6; resolutely prevent incidents from occurring, ensure the safety of people's lives, and protect the safety of key projects.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee noted that in recent days there has been heavy rain, the soil has been saturated with water, the risk of landslides and flash floods has increased; therefore, localities need to be especially vigilant, ready with response plans, organize the relocation and evacuation of people from dangerous areas in a timely manner.

Nhat Anh - Luu Huong

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/quang-tri-cuu-nan-thanh-cong-5-nguoi-dan-sau-4-gio-vat-lon-voi-dong-lu-xiet-102250830193800639.htm