VietNamNet Bridge – While they gathered in the morning for their breakfast, Nguyen Van Ta and his wife, two children and nephew were swept away by ferocious flood waters and all drowned.

Ta's house was located on an islet between a small stream and the Krong Nang River.

Ta's oldest child, Nguyen Thi Nga is the only family member who survived the flood this week as she had been visiting her grandparents during the summer break.

"The water level rose at an alarming rate. We saw that Ta's family were in a dangerous situation but we could do nothing to help them. We could only stand and watch them get carried away in the torrent of water," said Ha Van Ngan, a policeman from the Xuan Thai Commune.

Ngan was wounded and nearly lost his life when he tried swimming out to help the family but he became trapped between floating trees and the riverbank and was badly injured.

As the water levels began to rise, Ta's neighbour, Ha Thi Anh and her child thought Ta's solidly built house would be a safe place to shelter. However, the flood was so strong it destroyed everything in its path. "Floating trees crashed onto the house and it soon floated away," said Anh. "We were all thrown into the water."

"Ta and his second child floated back to the bank while his wife, Thanh and their small son were dragged to the middle of the river," she said.

Anh and her child were swept 3km from the house but were fortunately saved by a family. Her husband and elder child were also safe but her house was totally destroyed.

Damage

Hundreds of people are now homeless but a report is yet to be released outlining the exact damage to people and property in the area.

Three communes of R've, la J'loi, Ya Lop are still blocked by the flood, and 39 people from the Cu C'bang Commune who were working at one of the affected areas are still missing.

"I thought that I would be swept away last night. Water poured into my house in a split second. Hungry, cold and scared, I waved my white shirt all night until soldiers saw me," said Duong Thi Truc from Ea Le Commune of Ea Sup District.

At the Committee for Storm and Flood Control of Dak Lak Central Highlands province, deputy director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department Nguyen Van Xuan took many consecutive calls from two emergency hot-lines reporting damage caused by Tropical Storm No.2.

"Dak Lak has never seen such terrible floods. All 13 districts have been heavily damaged," said Xuan.

Ea Sup is the district with the heaviest damages in the whole province. All force have been mobilised to fix affected areas and provide emergency relief.

According to initial estimates, flood damage will run into thousands of million dong.

(Source: Viet Nam News)