Historic floods wipe out Hanoi family's property in just 10 minutes

About two days after floodwaters surged downstream from the Cau and Ca Lo Rivers, Da Phuc remained submerged on Saturday afternoon, with large areas still underwater, roads cut off, and countless households isolated, according to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters at the scene.

As her house remained deeply flooded, with much of it severely damaged, Do Thi Long, 45, a local resident, took shelter at a neighbor's home, quietly collecting the few remaining chicken eggs that had survived the flood.

Staring at the water covering the road, she recalled the horrifying moment on Thursday afternoon when the torrent suddenly rushed in and engulfed everything within minutes.

"When the flood hit, it took less than ten minutes to drown and sweep away 4,500 chickens and more than 100 metric tons of bran," Long said tearfully.

"Everything was gone in an instant. Our house turned into a small island in a sea of water."

She recalled that on the afternoon of October 9, she was tending to her chickens when floodwaters gushed in from behind her house 'like a flash flood.'

"It rose so fast that within minutes, the entire coop was underwater," she said.

"The nearby railway embankment had broken, and the water came rushing in. 

"I shouted for my husband to help move the chickens, but it was too late."

In addition to the poultry and bran, the family also lost about two metric tons of paddy grains and several vehicles.

The losses from the bran and chickens alone amounted to more than VND750 million (US$28,500), Long estimated.

Another local resident, Nguyen Thi Hoa, 70, said her home was also deeply flooded, with her rice storage room completely submerged.

"All our crops and vegetables were lost too," she said, her voice trembling.

"We could have held the dyke along the Cau River, but the railway embankment in Trung Gia Commune eroded, and the water came pouring down on us, drowning everything," Hoa added.

"I've lived here for 30 years, and this is the first time the area outside the dyke has ever been flooded like this."

On Saturday afternoon, chairman of the Hanoi administration Tran Sy Thanh met with local authorities in Da Phuc to discuss recovery measures, including repairing damaged infrastructure, supporting affected families, and helping residents rebuild their homes and livelihoods after the historic disaster.