Lau Khe rises after the flood

“It is still very difficult to restore the previous scale, but we are trying gradually. I have been restocking this fish pond for nearly a month, and the pond next door is being built, the mud is being drained, and we will try to release a new batch of fish soon,” said Mr. Dang Duc Doan in Lau Khe village, pointing to the restored fish pond of nearly 3 hectares.

Mr. Doan is the Party Secretary of the village and is also one of the pioneering households who boldly took advantage of the land outside the dike of Lau Khe village to invest in large-scale aquaculture.

Before storm No. 3 and the historic flood in early September 2024, Mr. Doan's household had 3 ponds for raising grass carp and common carp, with a total area of ​​about 20,000 m2.². With nearly 20 years of experience in aquaculture, Mr. Doan's family has a prosperous life in this rural area. Although he took proactive measures to prevent the storm and flood a few months ago, he did not expect the natural disaster to be so severe.

“Of the 3 ponds, 2 ponds with about 40 tons of fish were ready to be harvested, but before we could harvest them, the storm and flood came. My family’s alluvial land was the most flooded, the water level rose about 2 meters, so even though we had nets and relatives and neighbors came to help, all the fish were still swept away,” Mr. Doan regretfully recalled.

After the flood, the few tens of millions of dong saved from small carp lost in the pond was nothing compared to the billions of dong still owed to the bank and friends who invested in 3 fish ponds. While there were households around him who were exhausted and had to sell their ponds, Mr. Doan's family was determined to get back on their feet. With the support of his brothers and friends, the bank extending the debt, the feed company agreeing to pay later, and the local authorities exempting the tax debt for this year's flower products, his family had more motivation to rebuild their business.

Sharing the same situation with Mr. Doan is Mr. Phan Van Trung, Head of Lau Khe village. Mr. Doan and Mr. Trung are two exemplary leaders in the locality when they are determined to get rich from this land outside the dike.

Before storm No. 3, Mr. Trung had 13 fish cages on the Thai Binh River with a total output of about 80 tons. Because it was located right at the beginning of the fish farm, near the junction of the Thai Binh - Kinh Thay River, although it was secured, the storm and the strong flood water swept away almost everything. The investment of about 6.3 billion VND was almost lost in the blink of an eye, regret and the worry of debt weighed heavily on Mr. Trung's shoulders.

If there had not been that storm or flood, the fish cages would have given Mr. Trung's family a revenue of about 4.8 billion VND/year, a profit of about 500-700 million VND.

Although it was heartbreaking, with more than 10 years of experience in raising fish in cages and a strong will to succeed, Mr. Trung never thought of giving up. With the support of his fellow fish farmers, each with 1-2 tons of large carp, Mr. Trung bought cages from others and has now raised 6 cages of fish. By this Lunar New Year, 3 cages with a yield of about 10 tons will be ready for harvest.

Lau Khe village has 307 households with more than 1,100 people. 27 aquaculture households suffered the most damage, with total losses of about 100 billion VND. In addition, fruit gardens, vegetables, trees... were also devastated like many other localities.

Being an isolated area compared to the area inside the dike, facing the risk of flooding for many years, the people of Lau Khe are always united and help each other in everything. The image of long lines of people passing each fish to the shore and unanimously helping to sell and rescue the fish is also a source of spiritual encouragement for Mr. Trung, Mr. Doan and other aquaculture households to overcome difficulties and reproduce.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Duong, Vice Chairman of Hiep Cat Commune People's Committee, said that in the unforeseen incident of the recent storm and flood, the entire political system and local people unanimously turned their attention to the people of Lau Khe village who were isolated when the floodwaters rose. From bringing the elderly, children, and vulnerable people to safe areas, to helping people rescue fish, evacuate property, or provide food, all were carried out by the locality with the motto of being as fast as possible. After the storm, the locality reviewed the damage and agreed to exempt 1 year of public property tax for families outside the dike whose fish ponds were flooded. "Although the damage was huge, thanks to the determination of the government and the efforts of the people, the lives of the people of Lau Khe have now stabilized again. Everyone is actively restoring production," said Mr. Duong.