Floodwaters wash firewood, trash onto over 5km of north-central Vietnam beach

Nguyen Minh Tam, vice-chairman of the Sam Son Ward People’s Committee, said Friday morning that the local administration was directing relevant agencies to work with an environmental services company to mobilize workers and machinery to clear the firewood and trash.

According to Tam, heavy rains sent water from upstream areas of the Ma River downstream, carrying large amounts of firewood and trash into the sea before waves washed the debris onto the shore.

“Whenever there are major floods, Sam Son beach is also inundated with trash.

The ward is currently assessing the volume and organizing cleanup efforts. It may take up to a week to clear everything because the amount of debris is so large,” Tam said.

The beach from the foot of Truong Le Mountain to the FLC area in Sam Son Ward was covered in trash, mainly firewood, logs and plant debris.

Some local residents were seen collecting firewood from the beach to take home.

Sam Son was not the only beach affected. Trash also washed ashore at Hai Tien Beach in Hoang Tien and Hoang Thanh Communes in Thanh Hoa Province, although the amount was smaller than at Sam Son.

Floods and heavy rains from September 13 to 17 inundated more than 8,400 homes in 21 communes, caused four houses to collapse, and damaged more than 6,000 hectares of rice fields, crops and aquaculture areas. Many roads were also inundated or affected by landslides, according to the Thanh Hoa Civil Defense Command.

Around 3,800 people from more than 1,000 households were evacuated from dangerous and deeply flooded areas in 45 communes and wards to safer locations.

Thanh Hoa Province mobilized nearly 30,000 military personnel, police officers and grassroots security forces to assist residents.

The provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee also formed seven working teams to visit affected areas, including Ha Trung, Thieu Hoa, Thach Thanh, Tho Xuan, Bim Son, Yen Dinh, Trieu Son, Ngoc Lac and Nong Cong, to direct flood response and recovery efforts.