EN
Thai Nguyen is struggling to cope with a historic flood on the Cau River, surpassing all previous records and pushing thousands of people into a desperate situation of staying up all night and calling for help.
The impact of Typhoon Matmo's circulation combined with high-altitude wind convergence has brought terrible rain to Thai Nguyen province since the evening of October 6, causing severe flooding, isolating more than 5,400 houses and paralyzing most of the city center. This event is considered by many local people to be the most terrible flood in the past 60 years.
According to the assessment of Thai Nguyen province's sectors, this is a "natural disaster on top of natural disaster". Storm No. 11's circulation has caused an unprecedented impact in this locality.
From 7:00 p.m. on October 6 to 4:00 p.m. on October 7, the Meteorological Agency recorded rainfall in Thai Nguyen ranging from 200-400 mm, with some places exceeding 500 mm, such as Hoa Thuong station (564 mm) and Gia Bay station (541 mm). This extremely heavy rainfall caused the water level of Cau River to rise rapidly and exceed all forecasts.
Due to the influence of storm circulation No. 11 (international name Matmo), from the night of October 6 to October 7, Thai Nguyen province suffered a widespread heavy rain, with rainfall ranging from 250-400mm, in many places exceeding 500mm.
At Gia Bay Hydrological Station (Gia Sang Ward), at 4:00 p.m. on October 7, the water level of the Cau River reached 29.26 m, exceeding the third alarm level (BĐ3) by 2.26 m and exceeding the historical flood peak (set after Typhoon Yagi in 2024) by about 0.45 m. The situation continued to worsen overnight. By 7:30 p.m. on October 7, the water level here had reached 29.57 m, officially exceeding last year's historical flood peak by about 0.76 m. At its peak, from 2-3 a.m. on October 8, the water level of the Cau River at Gia Bay Bridge Station remained at an extremely dangerous alarm level, reaching 29.89 - 29.90 m.
Thai Nguyen Hydrometeorological Station had to issue a warning about the risk of historic floods on the Cau River, causing 21 out of 92 communes and wards of the province to be at risk of widespread flooding. In particular, riverside areas such as Gia Sang and Phan Dinh Phung wards in the center of Thai Nguyen City, along with areas such as La Hien and Dan Tien (Vo Nhai commune) were surrounded by floodwaters, some places up to 4 meters deep.
As the floodwaters rose beyond control, the center of Thai Nguyen lost power and was plunged into total darkness. For nearly a day, isolated and cut off from communication, residents in the flood-affected area fought through the night to stay safe. Many families had to close their shutters to prevent water from entering their homes and moved their entire lives to the second floor or climbed onto the roof to avoid the rushing water.
At night, people in isolated areas had to burn flares to call for help.
According to preliminary statistics as of 5am on October 8, Thai Nguyen recorded 4 deaths, 2 missing people and 2 injured people. The whole province has 5,450 affected houses, of which 22 houses had their roofs blown off, 359 houses had landslides on the slopes, 70 houses had to be urgently evacuated; 5,096 houses were flooded or isolated, of which 490 houses were promptly evacuated.
In the middle of the night on October 7, a frightening and touching image was recorded: a long streak of light believed to be an SOS flare flying up from the isolated area. This action was not only a warning but also a desperate cry for help from the people who were "staying up all night" to fight the fierce flood, after having to find a way to share their coordinates on social networks to ask for help. In the cold night, it did not rain but anxiety still prevailed, because floodwater from upstream continued to pour in. Immediately, an emergency rescue campaign was activated by Thai Nguyen authorities. Military Region 1, the Military Command, and Thai Nguyen Provincial Police mobilized thousands of officers, soldiers, militia, and youth to participate in the rescue.
The floods caused landslides and inundation of many traffic routes, cutting off and isolating many localities such as Vo Nhai, Trang Xa, Dan Tien, Nam Hoa, Hop Tien, Linh Son, Phan Dinh Phung, Quan Trieu, Van Lang... Rescue forces urgently approached and brought people from deep flooded areas to safety.
Authorities used rescue boats to reach deeply flooded residential areas, focusing on assisting in the evacuation of people and moving property away from dangerous areas. The rescue team's overnight efforts helped many families escape danger. However, traffic in the city center was completely paralyzed as many roads were submerged in floodwaters nearly a meter deep, and at intersections and bridge areas, the rushing water was very dangerous.
By noon on October 8, floodwaters from the Cau River continued to flood into residential areas in Gia Sang and Phan Dinh Phung wards. People had to use every means possible, from trucks to boats, to travel on the streets, evacuate their belongings or grope in the floodwaters to find clean water sources to use. With the devastation of the flood recorded as exceeding the historical flood peak after Typhoon Yagi in 2024, the work of overcoming the consequences and stabilizing the lives of Thai Nguyen people is forecast to be prolonged and difficult.
