Soldiers help people to repair houses

PANO - Over the past few days, people in central and northern provinces have been facing hardship following huge floods. Troops have been active in helping people in flooded areas stablise their lives.

Torrential rain following typhoon Lekima swept through many districts of these provinces and caused serious losses in both human lives and property.

The natural disaster left dozens of dead and missing, damaged numerous houses and public constructions and submerged crops in these provinces. Many people had to leave their property and evacuate to safe areas.

The provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ninh Binh were severely hit by the flood. Thousands of houses and crops in these areas were submerged. Most of the public works such as schools and hospitals were also deep in water.

During the floods, soldiers were the first force to rescue victims who were caught on trees or house roofs. They used planes, canoes and boats to provide food and drinking water and bring the victims to safe areas.

Military doctors provide healthcare to local people

Military doctors were also sent to the areas to give emergency aid to people. Many locals have been rescued.

At present, the waters are receding. Troops are cooperating with local authorities to help people overcome the consequences of the natural disaster and stabilise their lives by helping them come back their homes and distributing rice, drinking water and dried food.

So far, the Ministry of National Defence has mobilised over 44,000 soldiers and militia troops, 93 canoes and more than 200 vehicles to accelerate relief in localities. The ministry has also donated over 1.5 billion VND to storm and flood victims.

Soldiers were divided into many groups (each includes 200 to 300 soldiers) to help sanitise the environment and provide food and clothes to teachers and pupils in the flooded areas.

In Thanh Hoa and Ninh Binh provinces, soldiers helped people harvest inundated rice. They have also taken part in many other activities such as repairing houses, school and hospitals and reinforcing dykes.

The Military Health Department also sent medical teams to flood-affected communes, where they provided free check-ups, treatment and medicine for local people.

They also cooperated with local health sectors to take measures to prevent epidemics from infecting people after the flood.

Troops will stay there until the localities are back to normal.

Duy Minh