In the face of this disaster, the Thanh Hoa provincial armed forces became firm support, standing shoulder to shoulder with local authorities and residents to overcome hardship.
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Tran Cam Tu hands over the Party and State’s aid to Thanh Hoa provincial leaders. |
On September 30, Politburo member and Standing member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat Tran Cam Tu visited Thanh Hoa to offer encouragement. He praised the swift and decisive response of the provincial Party committee, local government, armed forces, and emergency workers. He stressed that the top priority must be protecting human lives, stabilizing daily living conditions, and ensuring that essential needs are met. Food, medicine, clean water, and housing repair must be provided promptly, while the sufficiency of schools and medical facilities must be ensured.
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The Defensive Area Region 5 – Tinh Gia Command supporting residents in Nong Cong |
On behalf of the Party and State leadership, Tran Cam Tu presented financial support to help the central province deal with the storm’s aftermath. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee also contributed VND 500 million from the Central Relief Fund to the locality. These timely directives and material assistance from the central government gave Thanh Hoa vital strength to recover, stabilize, and restart production.
With the guiding principle that “human life comes first” and the motto “wherever there is hardship and danger, there are soldiers,” Thanh Hoa’s armed forces immediately got involved. In Nong Cong commune, one of the hardest-hit areas where more than 3,000 households were isolated as floodwaters rose to two meters, military and police units rushed to the scene using boats.
Political Commissar of the Defensive Area Region 5 – Tinh Gia Command Senior Colonel Le Van Khanh, who directly led rescue operations, said, “We mobilized all available manpower to maintain a constant presence in Nong Cong, delivering supplies and organizing evacuations. Our boats ran at full capacity, bringing food in and taking the elderly and children out to safety.”
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The Defensive Area Region 2 – Ha Trung Command reinforcing the Hoat River dyke overnight |
Thousands of packages of instant noodles, dry ration, bread, bottled water, medicine, and life jackets were distributed directly to households. Vulnerable residents were evacuated from dangerous areas.
Nguyen Van Ha, a 65-year old resident in Nong Cong, expressed relief as he received a life jacket and food from soldiers. “With food and life jackets like this, we feel much safer. The water is chest-deep, and we can only move around by boat. Without the rescue forces, we wouldn’t know what to rely on,” Ha said.
In Ha Trung commune, two motorboats were deployed to deliver food to isolated households in Binh Lam hamlet. At the same time, more than 30 officers and soldiers worked to reinforce the Buoi River dyke in Kim Tan commune, where signs of seepage threatened the safety of the entire flood-control system. Senior Colonel Le Van Dam, Head of the Defensive Area Region 2 – Ha Trung Command, noted that his troops had worked through the night alongside Division 390 to protect the Hoat River dyke and continued emergency efforts the following morning.
The tornado on September 29 left hundreds of families in Hoang Phu and Hoang Giang communes homeless, while schools were badly damaged with uprooted trees and collapsed roofs. Responding quickly, soldiers in Ha Trung helped clear debris, remove fallen trees, clean classrooms, and sanitize equipment to ensure a safe environment for students to return to school.
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The Defensive Area Region 2 – Ha Trung Command cleaning up Hoang Quy Kindergarten |
Through all these efforts, Thanh Hoa’s armed forces have once again demonstrated their role as a firm support for the people in times of hardship. Guided by the belief that “human life comes above all else,” they continue to embody the soldier’s promise of their presence wherever danger and difficulty arise.
Translated by Tran Hoai