In the wake of typhoon Yagi, Hanoi has mobilized authorities to clear fallen trees. The replanting and restoration of damaged trees are also underway, with efforts being made to complete these tasks as swiftly as possible.
According to a representative from the Hanoi Department of Construction, over 20,000 trees were uprooted by the typhoon. Of these, approximately 8,700 were urban trees, and nearly 1,900 are suitable for replanting, reported Lao Dong news site.
Trees with a diameter of less than 25 centimeters are more likely to recover and survive. In addition to Burma padauk and Dalbergia tonkinensis, rare and ancient trees such as banyan and ficus have been prioritized for replanting on major streets.
Trees that cannot be replanted immediately on-site will be transported to nurseries for care. The cleanup of branches and leaves continues urgently, with numerous teams and green space companies from various provinces coming to assist.
HCMC’s donations for flood victims in northern region
In a bid to support victims of flash floods and landslides in some northern provinces, Tien Thinh Phat Group in Hoc Mon District, HCMC, donated 2,000 cartons of canned fish in sour and spicy sauce and tomato sauce, and pork dumpling in tomato sauce to them. Nguyen Anh Tien, general director of the group, told dantri.com.vn that from late September 10 to early next morning, 10 employees volunteered to load the cartons of canned food weighing up to 36 tons onto trucks to be transported to the affected localities.
Also on September 11, employees of PHGLock Vietnam Co. in Tan Phu District, HCMC, packed and transported 15 motor boats and 500 life jackets as donations for flood victims in the northern region. Hoang Tuan Anh, general director of PHGLock Vietnam and the founder of the “rice ATMs” during the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, said the company would cooperate with local youth unions to help bring necessities to flooded areas by boat.
Meanwhile, Dem Saigon, a charity team in the city, bought 1,500 life jackets, 1.5 tons of dried food, and 300 battery flashlights for the flood victims. Huong Le, general director of Big Idea Services Trading JSC, contributed VND100 million to the Vietnamese Fatherland Front for the victims. She and the members of CEO90 Club also donated eight tons of life jackets, flashlights and necessities to those in need.
The great heart of an old professor
On September 10, Prof. Dr. Le Ngoc Thach, visiting lecturer at the University of Science (the Vietnam National University, HCMC), came to the office of Tuoi Tre newspaper, bringing with him his savings book worth VND1 billion (approximately US$40,000). The 76-year-old professor would like to donate all his savings to the flood victims in some northern localities via the program launched by Tuoi Tre for flood-hit areas in the north.
Thach told tuoitre.vn that his savings are his own earnings from many years of his teaching career, monthly pensions, and royalties from his books. As he lives all alone, what he is earning now is enough for his daily life, and so he wanted to donate all his savings to the flood victims.
“VND1 billion might be a big sum contributed by a person, but it is too small compared to the losses of our compatriots in the flooded areas in the north,” said the kind and generous professor.
A brave man during Phong Chau Bridge collapse
At about 10 a.m. on September 9, two main spans of Phong Chau Bridge in Phu Tho Province collapsed because of the impact of typhoon Yagi-induced floodwaters that caused swift currents in the Red River. Together with some other motored vehicles, Phan Truong Son and his motorbike fell into the troubled water.
Seeing Son flowing down the swift current while trying to cling to a banana stem and yelling for help, Ngo Van Khanh, a 26-year-old local resident, immediately took his boat and rowed it toward the victim. Khanh told dantri.com.vn that rowing the boat a few hundred meters along the troubled water to rescue Son was quite a challenging task. With strenuous efforts from both the rescuer and the victim, Khanh could bring Son onto the boat and rowed him back to the riverbank.
Son was then hospitalized with many minor wounds on his body. He said after falling into the river, he tried to rise to the water surface and could luckily take hold of a banana stem. Flowing a few kilometers down the troubled river, he thought he would die until being rescued by Khanh. Without this brave man, he could have lost his life, Son said.
