Families shelter for days in mountain cave amid severe floods in Vietnam’s Lang Son

By the time Tuoi Tre (Youth) reporters reached them on Thursday afternoon after nearly three hours traveling by motorboat through floodwaters that still covered rooftops, they found a dozen people, from toddlers to the elderly, huddled among cold rocks inside the cave.

The path was treacherous. Electric wires, fallen trees, and submerged poles made it impossible for rescue boats to get close.

Reporters had to climb slippery rocks to reach the cave, where they found soaked blankets, exhausted faces, and trembling hands holding the last bits of food.

Earlier, at around 2:00 am on Wednesday, Nguyen Van Dung, 52, woke to find floodwaters rising to his chest.

Outside, the darkness was thick and the current violent. “Run to the mountain! Run to the mountain!” he shouted to his wife and children.

Within minutes, water surged over their roof, engulfing nearly all of the commune’s Tan Nhien Hamlet.

Alongside Dung’s family, two others, Tran Van Xuyen and Nguyen Thi Thu, also scrambled up the cliffs and took shelter in a rocky cave halfway up the mountain.

From the entrance, they could see only muddy water where their homes once stood.

“When the water came, it was like a waterfall,” Thu, 72, said, tears streaming down her face.

“We thought we would die. It was dark, and the water was rising so fast. We didn’t have time to take anything and we just ran.”

For two days, the families survived on a few packets of instant noodles and sips of water.

“The first night, we ate the noodles dry,” Thu recalled. “We tried to save every drop of water. It was the hardest night of my life.”

Rescue teams reached them late Wednesday with food and water, as the families continued to shelter in the cave, waiting for the floodwaters to recede.

“Last night we had rice, shared among all of us,” Thu said. “But there isn’t enough water. The children are thirsty and cold, covered in mosquito bites. We don’t know when we can go home if there’s even a home left.”

From the cave, she gazed down at the flooded valley. Only the tops of rooftops were visible. “Everything is gone, the pigs, the chickens, the garden,” she whispered.

Nearby, nearly 20 other villagers, including children and elderly residents, were sheltering in another cave higher up the mountain.

Rescue teams ferried supplies across the swollen waters to keep them alive until the floods recede.

By Thursday night, water levels in Van Nham and nearby areas had begun to drop slightly but still reached waist height in many places and nearly roof level in low-lying areas.

Local authorities and relief workers continued navigating the floodwaters to deliver food and evacuate stranded families to safety.