Residents in Thai Nguyen Spend the Night on Rooftops as Historic Floods Submerge Homes

As of late October 7, hundreds of residents in Thai Nguyen Province were trapped on rooftops, fighting to survive after record-breaking floods submerged entire neighborhoods in the aftermath of Typhoon Matmo.

At 11 p.m., Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Hưng, 71, sat shivering on the roof of her submerged home in Linh Sơn Ward after being stranded for over 13 hours without food or water. “Please help me. I had a stroke before and haven’t eaten all day,” she told reporters over a weakening phone call. Her single-story house was flooded with more than two meters of water, forcing her to climb onto the roof alone after her son, who works in Hanoi, was unable to return.

Despite repeated rescue calls, no emergency team could reach her due to the strong currents and deep floodwaters. “Many of my neighbors are also trapped, most of them elderly,” she said. By midnight, she sent her son a final text: “My phone battery is dying, and the water is still rising—just 30 cm more and it’ll reach the roof.”

Nearby, Ms. Trần Thị Hiền and her family — including her elderly parents and three children aged 11, 5, and 4 — were also stranded on their rooftop. The family survived on dry instant noodles and sheltered under a nylon tarp. By 9 p.m., floodwaters had reached within half a meter of their ceiling. “We called rescue teams all day, but they said the current is too strong for boats to enter,” she said.

The situation turned desperate when Hiền’s 16-year-old son’s small boat capsized while trying to find help. He was swept 30 meters downstream before being rescued by neighbors.

In Quyết Thắng Hamlet, Ms. Hoàng Thị Niệm, 50, and her husband huddled on their roof with a portable gas stove and a pot of plain porridge — their only meal of the day. “Gas is almost out. We can see our neighbors stranded nearby, but the water’s too deep and violent to reach them,” she said.

Throughout October 7, social media flooded with emergency pleas from residents in Thái Nguyên City, Võ Nhai, Phú Lương, Đồng Hỷ, and Đại Từ, as thousands were trapped without food, drinking water, or phone power.

Provincial officials confirmed that many areas remained completely isolated by evening. “The water rose at an unprecedented speed — just a few hours and everything was underwater,” said Đàm Quang Tuyến, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Fatherland Front.

Rescue operations were ongoing through the night, with hundreds of police officers, soldiers, and emergency workers deployed alongside boats and rescue vehicles.

The younger brother of Ms. Tran Thi Hien, in Linh Son ward, Thai Nguyen, rowed a boat to bring his parents, sister and nephew to his house for shelter at noon on October 7. Photo: Provided by the character

Preliminary reports indicate three deaths, three missing persons, and numerous injuries. Many communities remain cut off as authorities race against time to deliver aid.

According to the Thai Nguyen Hydrometeorological Station, rainfall from October 6–7 reached 200–400mm, with some areas recording over 500mm — Hóa Thượng (564mm) and Gia Bảy (541mm). The Cầu River reached 29.26m, surpassing its historic high by 0.45m.

Meteorologists warn that flood levels on the Cầu River could reach historic records, threatening inundation across 21 of the province’s 92 wards and communes.