The sun was out this morning, hesitantly, briefly, still having to battle with persistent clouds… Flood waters are receding and the tiny vegetable patches across the road are breathing again. The mountains are visible in the distance, wisps of cloud dressing their flanks. It is three days after Damrey first made landfall in Southern Vietnam. The unrelenting downpour of the last few days has fizzled out, yesterday a mere drizzle, heavy rains only rearing up their ugly heads once in a while… Schools are still closed, the government is not taking any chances. But we are a private school where profits have been hit hard by cancelled lessons. Maybe today we will have our normal schedules again…
Strengthening to the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane before reaching land, typhoon Damrey wreaked havoc and brought destruction to the Southern province of Khanh Hoa, and much of Southern and central Vietnam. At least 27 people were killed, 22 missing. Houses collapsed, trees were uprooted and electricity cables snapped in its wake. For two days, violent squalls of driving rain trailed ferocious gusts of winds, its effects extending as far North as Da Nang, and the picturesque town of Hoi An, which I visited just two months ago.
Quang Ngai City, where I live, is near the coast, in the centre of the country halfway between Da Nang and Khanh Hoa. The town was not directly in the typhoon’s path, merely on the periphery and thus was spared the most damaging high winds that pummelled the more southern areas. A few sudden early morning gusts, strong enough to rip out a tree in the park, but no major damage to buildings, at least not in the neighbourhood directly surrounding the school where I work.
But Quang Ngai City is in a low-lying region, hemmed in by the sea on the East and mountains on the West, and there was significant threat of serious flooding from the heavy rains accompanying and following the tropical storm. And flooding it did. Not only did the infrastructure struggle to cope with the amount of rainfall in the town, there was also the water flowing down from the mountains adding to the deluge. Roads became quickly inundated, drain grills clogged with leaves and debris and unable to swallow the flow. Street cleaners no match to the task…
Floods are not uncommon in this part of the country so roads have generous kerbs, and houses and shops are built slightly elevated to avoid being swamped. Luckily, the waters did not burst into too many houses in Quang Ngai, but the normally bustling street market was disrupted. Street vendors moved to higher ground to sell their wares, whilst shop keepers sat forlornly at their shop fronts waiting for customers who stayed away. Only those with a real reason to be out, ventured through the flooded streets, fiercely pedalling their pushbikes, riding motorbikes at speed or slowly to escape stalling or braving the waters in the safety of their four-wheel drives..
On Saturday, we – the teachers – stayed indoors, relishing in the unexpected day off. No one had thought about stocking up on food; few of us make it a habit of daily watching the news or the weather, and let’s face it, there was hardly a reference to Typhoon Damrey on BBC World News… We only learned about the impending storm when on Friday evening an email was sent notifying us there would be no classes on Saturday. Cause for celebration, rather than shopping… We played cards, read books, watched movies… a day of relaxation.
With no easing of the rain in sight, and the fridge looking distinctly bare on Sunday, we braved the tempest and walked to the nearby supermarket… We waded through ankle – and in places almost knee – deep water, got drenched by passing motorbikes and emptied the pockets of our raincoats after the trickle and drip of rainwater funnelled in. The supermarket was open, all but deserted but the shelves were still stocked… We did not explore the older quarters of town beyond, where flooding was causing more serious problems, as we learned from Facebook posts from our Vietnamese colleagues. Just getting in some basic staples to see us through the next few days was enough of an adventure.
Monday saw better weather, a little respite from the savage rains. After three days of leisure (Friday was my normal day off), it was good to get out and about. With the roads to the supermarket quite passable, I wandered further, eager to explore different parts of town. It quickly became clear that other areas of the city had suffered much more serious flooding than my neighbourhood… But in these places, where insurance for natural disasters is probably unheard of, life has to go back to normal as soon as possible and livings have to be made…
I went out again this morning, Tuesday. The flood waters have dissipated, leaving roads damp and cluttered. Piles of accumulated debris still litter the streets. But the market is back to normal, maybe a little busier as people need to replenish their food stores.
A new tree has already been planted and the uprooted tree chopped up and removed. Workmen on ladders are repairing stretched and broken cables. The kids are making the most of another day off from school…
By tomorrow, everything will be back to normal in Quang Ngai, but maybe not in other parts of the country which have been much harder hit…
Residents are transported by boats through floodwaters in Hoi An after Typhoon Damrey made landfall. Picture: AFP/STRSource:AFP
Just two months ago…
In the touristy town of Hoi An, just 100 km further North, people had to be evacuated by boats from houses and hotels as flood water cascaded through the town. The damage there is much more widespread and the effects more long lasting. We had a lucky escape, it could have been so much worse…
Lieve Round The World 