Don't rush to stockpile goods because of rumors of "dam break"

On the morning of September 10, the water level in the river system through Hai Duong such as Thai Binh River, Kinh Thay River, Kinh Mon River... rose. Flooding on Thai Binh River has reached alert level II.

Faced with the rapidly rising water level, people in many areas along the dike have urgently moved their assets and livestock out of the area outside the dike. On the night of September 9, the dike guard and protection force also worked all night according to the alarm level to detect and promptly handle any situations that threaten the safety of the dike, embankment, and culvert system. Localities in the province are focusing on responding to floods according to the "4 on-site" motto. According to the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Hai Duong province, by noon on September 10, all dikes in Hai Duong province were not broken, still strictly protected and safe; a few minor incidents were handled immediately.

However, on Facebook and some groups on Zalo, some accounts posted incomplete information about the flood situation, even spreading false information that there was a dike break in Hai Duong city; Thanh Ha, Nam Sach, Cam Giang districts... The false information made many Hai Duong people in general, and Hai Duong people living far from home in particular, confused and worried about their relatives, especially in the context that mobile phone and internet signals in many localities have not yet returned after storm No. 3.

The rumor spread quickly, causing people in many places to rush to buy and stockpile. Many goods and foods were pushed up in price and suddenly became scarce. Instant noodles, drinks, etc. were announced by many stores and supermarkets to be temporarily out of stock.

In the early morning of September 10, some residents even brought their cars onto the Y-shaped bridge from the EcoRivers ecological urban area to the new urban area in the east of Hai Duong City to prevent their cars from being flooded during floods, forcing the city's functional forces to work hard to clear the area. The clearance was necessary because parking like that violated the Road Traffic Law and obstructed traffic.

Currently, the water level of rivers in Hai Duong area is high and may continue to rise. What everyone needs to do now is to stay calm, proactively grasp accurate information from official sources of the province, from the government, professional agencies, Hai Duong Newspaper, social media platforms of Hai Duong Newspaper and official press, strictly follow the recommendations of the authorities. In particular, everyone needs to be vigilant against false rumors that cause panic.

Most recently, a person in Bac Giang was summoned by the police for spreading false rumors about a dike breach. Previously, during the Covid-19 pandemic, many people were administratively punished and even criminally prosecuted for spreading false news on social media. Hai Duong police are investigating and handling the person who spread false news about the dike breach.

Storm No. 3 has caused great property damage in the province. Currently, the entire political system of Hai Duong is urgently working every minute and every hour to prevent floods and rains with the highest determination to protect the safety of the dike system.

People need to be alert to false information; update accurate information and proactively implement flood prevention measures in accordance with the warning level given by the authorities to avoid damage caused by false information.