On Wednesday morning, floodwaters from the upper reaches of the Ma River continued to surge downstream, submerging all seven neighborhoods located outside the dike in Ham Rong Ward.
A woman sits on her roof waiting for rescuers, as the flood completely surrounded her home.
On Street 7, Ham Rong Ward, one house was submerged almost to the roof. Pham Duc Toan, chairman of the Ham Rong Ward People's Committee, said neighborhoods 4 through 10 are currently under 1–6 meters of water.
People who are strong enough used small round boats to cross the flood zone and buy essential supplies to store.
Most households in Ham Rong affected by flooding have lived outside the dike for many years, accustomed to annual floods during the storm season.
A boy in Neighborhood 8, Ham Rong Ward, was carried by relatives across the dike to evacuate on Wednesday afternoon.
According to Ham Rong authorities, more than 2,100 households with 7,230 residents are now flooded. Most residents have been instructed to evacuate locally, moving to upper floors in their villages. The elderly, children and the sick are prioritized for relocation to schools, cultural centers, or relatives' houses inside the dike.
Luong Trong Truong, a resident of Street 7, Ham Rong Ward, swam through the flood to retrieve food from relatives. His home is now submerged over one meter.
"The flood rose very quickly. I stayed up all night and into the morning moving belongings to higher places to avoid damage," Truong said, adding that the Ma River's level is only about 20–30 cm below the historic flood peak of 2017.
Though no official statistics have been released, dozens of communes and wards in Thanh Hoa, including Cam Thuy, Ba Thuoc, Vinh Loc, Nga Son and Ham Rong, are now flooded in the aftermath of Typhoon Kajiki.
In this photo, police are seen evacuating property for residents in Ba Dinh Commune on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday night, heavy flooding caused an 80-meter section of the T2 canal dike in Tong Son Commune to collapse, submerging more than 200 hectares of rice fields.
Early Wednesday morning, Thanh Hoa provincial police's rescue teams were deployed to help move over 100 tons of rice stored in residential areas near the breach.
By late morning, police and local militia were mobilized with specialized boats to evacuate residents of Ham Rong Ward to safer areas.
Police are continuing to check households in Ham Rong Ward most deeply affected by flooding, relocating people and property to safety.
Hundreds of households in the Aison and Son Van neighborhoods of Hac Thanh Ward are also deeply flooded.
Typhoon Kajiki, which hit central Vietnam on Monday afternoon before weakening into a tropical depression, has caused heavy rains across the province, sending water levels in the Ma, Chu, Buoi and Cau Chay rivers rising sharply, leading to widespread flooding.
Homes outside the Ma River dike were inundated on Wednesday morning. Video by Le Hoang
