On the morning of 8/10, Major General Pham Ba Ty, Deputy Director of the Search and Rescue Department, General Staff Department of the Vietnam People's Army, announced that the army had deployed forces to four fronts in Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, and Lang Son provinces. These areas are the epicenter of widespread flooding caused by the remnants of Typhoon Matmo. In total, over 30,000 officers and soldiers, along with thousands of boats and rescue vehicles, have been mobilized for the effort.

Soldiers from the Lang Son Military Command assist residents in That Khe to evacuate from flood-hit areas. Photo: Search and Rescue Department

In Bac Ninh, Major General Ty is directing dike incident management. At 7:30 h today, a 10-15 meter section of the Den Kenh dike in Ngoai hamlet, Tien Luc commune, was breached. Floodwaters inundated the area, isolating nearly 600 households in five hamlets: Trung Pho, Dinh, San, Dun, and Tram. Military, police, and militia forces have evacuated hundreds of residents.

Towards Lang Son, two Regiment 916 helicopters departed from Ha Noi, carrying 4 tons of dried food and instant noodles for relief. The first flight took off at 9:50 h from Gia Lam airport, heading to Van Nham; the second departed at 10:20 h for Yen Binh. Major General Vu Hong Son, Commander of the Air Defense - Air Force, personally directed these rescue efforts. The Air Defense - Air Force is expected to deploy additional helicopters to transport relief supplies.

Regiment 916 helicopters before takeoff to Lang Son on the morning of 8/10. Photo: Search and Rescue Department

Currently, floodwaters in rivers across the northern region are rising rapidly. The Cau River in Thai Nguyen has exceeded its 9/2024 flood level by over one meter. The Bang River in Cao Bang has surpassed its historical level (184.84 meters) by 0.58 meters. The Thuong River at the Phu Lang Thuong station in Bac Ninh province continues to rise and may exceed its 1986 historical level (7.52 meters).

High floodwaters are threatening the dike and embankment system. The Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, has recorded 59 dike incidents, with the highest numbers in Ninh Binh (21), Thanh Hoa (15), and Bac Ninh (6).

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting warned that while rain will decrease, widespread flooding in Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Lang Son, and Cao Bang provinces will persist for the next 3-4 days due to the current high flood levels. There is a high risk of flooding in low-lying riverside areas and urban centers in the northern region, along with riverbank and river dike erosion, flash floods on rivers and streams, and landslides on slopes.

Hoang Phuong