Chapter 21 — Sunlight on the Red Book

In the middle of the rainy season, when the expanded review work was in its final stages, the regional hydrometeorological station suddenly issued a warning about a high tide combined with prolonged heavy rain, potentially causing serious flooding in many riverside areas in Tan Hoa district, including Con Sen commune.

"This is the strongest predicted high tide in the last ten years," Mr. Tran Quoc Hung announced at an emergency meeting of the commune committee, his voice serious. "We need to urgently deploy response measures, especially in low-lying and riverside areas, where the risk of flooding is highest."

Ha Vy, with the experience in terrain and geology that she has accumulated through cadastral work, was assigned the task of coordinating with the commune's militia and self-defense force, reviewing all high-risk areas, and making a list of households that need priority evacuation if the situation worsens.

"The garden of Mr. Sau Tam and the Lam family is located in the riverside area, with a high risk of flooding," Ha Vy commented when reviewing the topographic map with the technical team. "We need to pay special attention to these two areas and prepare timely response plans."

She immediately contacted Dang Khoa to inform him of the situation and discuss a plan to protect the orchard that his family has worked hard to cultivate for many years. "We need to reinforce the dike system around the garden, and prepare a high-capacity water pump to promptly drain the water if the water level rises," Dang Khoa said, his voice urgent.

In the next two days, the whole Con Sen commune entered an unprecedented atmosphere of urgent preparation. People work together to reinforce dikes and shorelines, prepare sandbags and water pumps, while functional forces continuously update weather forecast information and prepare evacuation plans if necessary. Dang Phong, although still very busy with his new business, put everything aside to join his younger brother and neighbors in reinforcing the entire dike system surrounding the family garden.

"We cannot let the efforts of many years be washed away just because of a high tide," Dang Phong said, his hands quickly arranging sandbags along the dike. "No matter how tired you are, you must try to protect this garden to the end."

Ha Vy, although busy with the general coordination work of the whole commune, still took advantage of short periods of time to come and support the Lam family in reinforcing the dike. Looking at the scene of the whole family and neighbors uniting and joining hands to fight natural disasters, she could not help but be moved by the spirit of solidarity typical of the people of the river region.

"Thank you for always being here, helping my family overcome all difficulties," Dang Khoa said as he took advantage of the short break, holding Ha Vy's hand with eyes full of respect. "With you by my side, I feel much more confident in facing the challenges ahead."

"We are part of this community, helping each other is natural," Ha Vy replied, smiling slightly even though her face was covered in mud after many hours of hard work. "No matter how strong the tide is, I believe, with solidarity like this, we will overcome it."

By the evening of the second day, when the preparation work was basically completed, the sky at Con Sen began to turn a heavy gray color, the first gusts of wind began to blow strongly through the coconut groves, signaling that the high tide was about to arrive.

At Mr. Sau Tam's house, due to his old age and weak health, reinforcing the dike became much more difficult than in other families. Realizing that, Ha Vy proactively mobilized a group of young volunteers in the neighborhood to support the old man. "You just let us do the heavy lifting, you just need to give instructions," a young man in the group said, nimbly carrying each sandbag and loading it up the dike.

Mr. Sau Tam, although unable to hide his emotions at everyone's kindness, still tried to contribute according to his ability, bringing water and preparing snacks for the volunteer team. “Thank you so much,” he said, his voice choked. "If it weren't for everyone's help, I probably wouldn't know how to manage."

"This is our duty, sir," Ha Vy replied, her hands still quickly tying each sandbag tightly. "Con Sen is a community, we always have to help each other, especially in difficult times like this."

That evening, when the dike reinforcement work in all key areas was completed, Ha Vy and Mr. Tran Quoc Hung held a final meeting to review the entire response plan. "We have prepared as fully as possible in the time allowed," Mr. Hung said, his voice both confident and cautious. "But natural disasters always have unpredictable developments, we need to always be ready to respond to all situations."

"I have made a complete list of households that need to be prioritized for evacuation if the water rises above the alarming threshold, along with pre-arranged safe shelters," Ha Vy reported, her voice serious. "The militia and self-defense team has also been assigned to stand guard all night at key points."

That night, the rain began to fall heavily, accompanied by strong gusts of wind, causing the entire Con Sen commune to be immersed in a tense and nervous atmosphere. Ha Vy and her on-duty team are on duty all night at the commune committee headquarters, closely monitoring each update on river water level developments, ready to respond to any situation that may arise.

Near midnight, an emergency call from the patrol team startled the entire duty room. "The water level in the river near the Lam family's garden is rising unusually fast, exceeding the level two warning level," the patrolman's voice sounded worried over the radio. "There are signs that a small section of dike is leaking water."

Ha Vy's heart tightened at that news. Without any hesitation, she, Mr. Hung and the emergency response team immediately set out to the scene, amidst the rain that was getting heavier and heavier, the wind whistling through the coconut trees buckling in the dark night.

She immediately called Dang Khoa, her voice urgent through the sound of wind and rain. "Dear, the dike near my garden is showing signs of leaking, I'm on my way there with the response team."

"I'll be there soon," Dang Khoa replied, his voice also filled with worry. Just a few minutes later, when Ha Vy and the rescue convoy arrived, Dang Khoa and Dang Phong were there, trying to use sandbags to block the leaking dike under the flickering flashlight light in the torrential rain.

"Water is leaking through a small crack, but if not handled promptly, it may break into a larger piece," Dang Khoa shouted loudly through the sound of wind and rain, his face already wet and covered in mud. The emergency response team quickly coordinated with the people, using sandbags and specialized tarpaulins to reinforce the dike in trouble.

Ha Vy, despite the pouring rain, rushed in to help. She and everyone else passed around heavy sandbags to block the increasingly strong leaking water. "Come on, we're almost done," she shouted loudly to encourage the team's morale, even though she herself was tired after many hours of stressful work.

After nearly an hour of struggling in the rain and wind, the leaking dyke was finally successfully reinforced, promptly preventing the risk of a dyke break that could cause serious consequences for the entire area. The whole team stood panting, soaked from head toe, but everyone couldn't hide the relief evident on their faces.

"We did it," Dang Khoa said, pulling Ha Vy into an emotional hug, despite both being drenched in rain. "Thank you, for always being there promptly in the most important moments."

"We did it together," Ha Vy replied, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment, feeling a strange warmth amid the cold rain. "That's the most important thing."

Dang Phong, standing nearby, also contributed, his voice filled with relief. "Our whole neighborhood has overcome the first challenge together. But this night will probably be long, we need to continue to be vigilant, not to let our guard down even for a minute."

The group quickly reassigned shifts, taking turns to rest for short periods of time, while the rain continued to pour down non-stop, and the river water level was still silently rising every hour, threatening challenges that had not yet stopped, a long and arduous night still ahead for the entire Con Sen community.