Eyewitness Account of the Worst Mekong Delta Flood in Seventy Years

By Ngan Nguyen, Southeast Asia Program Officer, Oxfam America

“I am seventy years old. In all my life, I have not seen floods worse than what we are experiencing. I have lived through a series of wars. Fleeing from these wars was easier than fleeing from this flood.”

Nguyen Thi Nginh tearfully describes the floods which have claimed all her life possessions, her livelihood, as well as her hope and dignity. Living in the Moc Hoa district in Long An Province, she speaks for the four million people who live in the Mekong River delta of Vietnam who suffer the devastation caused by what many flood victims refer to as the “Dragon Flood.”

The year 2000 is the year of the Dragon. For many people who have barely survived the flood, it is a year that has severely worsened their already miserable lives. Observers claim that these floods – the worst in 70 years - have set back development in this region for 20 years. To be sure, this area of Vietnam holds the poorest of the poor, whose misfortune speaks volumes to the dismal state of affairs in the disaster-prone delta.

As a Southeast Asia program officer for Oxfam America, I first learned of the floods back in August. Then concern was focused on the early advent of the monsoon season and at that point, no one could have imagined that the continuing downpour would become as severe as it has, lasting for three months. As news of the flood in the Mekong delta trickled into Boston, I imagined images of people suffering from flood, famine, and misfortune. But I could never have imagined the depth of suffering I encountered as an eyewitness to the tragedy unfolding in the Mekong delta.

On October 29, I flew into Ho Chi Minh City to embark on what was to be the most moving of all my field visits since I started my career in the development field. From the plane, I could not differentiate between the Mekong River and land submerged under the flood. When I arrived I joined my colleague, Tes Pilapil, an Oxfam America program officer based in Phnom Penh. Together we traveled with two associates, Dr. Nguyen Van Be and Ms. Hong, from Can Tho University. Oxfam America has worked together with faculty from the University since the 1980s. The four of us set off on a field visit to the three provinces in the Plain of Reeds, starting with Long An province then proceeding on to Tien Giang and Dong Thap provinces.

The road in Long An Province was lined with flimsy tents sheltering thousands of flood victims. These shabby tents stretched for miles to the horizon, crammed with families huddled together with their surviving livestock. Rice paddies that once graced the sides of the roads were now submerged, and boats were a common sight. When we reached Moc Hoa district, we boarded a boat to reach Tan Lap village, where Oxfam America has supported a microcredit project since 1997. We learned that the water had started to recede a couple of weeks ago. Still, at 2.5 meters, the water was high enough to reach rooftops that were once the homes of our project beneficiaries. Along this route, roads that we once traveled for project monitoring visits were completely submerged. Indeed, the area was unrecognizable. Even under normal circumstances this project site has always been difficult to reach. All the while, as we inched our way to Tan Lap village, we could see hundreds of tents set up on dykes and bridges.

When we reached Tan Lap village, we met our project beneficiaries in camps they had been occupying for 2 ˝ months. Of the 993 households in this village, 100 percent have had to seek refuge