Sympathizing with a couple whose more than 4,000 chickens died due to flooding during heavy rains in a province in Vietnam last week, neighbors rushed to help them remove the dead chickens and turn them into animal feed.

On the evening of September 30, dozens of people were still gathered in front of the culture house in Bau Xuan Village, Dien Doai Commune, Dien Chau District, north-central Nghe An Province. 

They did a favor to Nguyen Duc The and his wife by caring for the more than 4,000 chickens that died in a flood. The dead chickens were a great asset to the couple.

Nguyen Thi Hien, The's wife, looked incredibly sad as she boiled hot water to process the dead chickens.

She and her husband had been taking care of the chickens for several months, hoping to sell them in the near future.

But the flood dealt a heavy blow to their poultry farm, killing their flock of chickens overnight. 

Hien recalled that she and her husband were extremely worried when they heard that Typhoon Noru might bring heavy rains, but they did not know where to shelter the 4,000 chickens. 

On the evening of September 29, Hien fed the chickens as usual. At 9:00 that day, it was pouring rain.

Hien and her husband brought lights to check on the chicken farm, but the water level rose too quickly.

"Within just an hour, the water was up to our waists. We had to return home because we were afraid something dangerous might happen," Hien recounted. 

It rained throughout the night, and Hien and The could not sleep out of concern for their farm.

"When I went to check the next morning, I found that all the chickens had been drowned by the floodwaters," Hien said sadly.

The said he bought over 4,000 chickens two months ago to raise them in a new flock. They had hoped to sell them soon, not expecting anything like this. 

The couple planned to bury the dead fowl but the arduous work they had done to care for them made that too difficult. 

When they learned about the poultry farm incident, a resort in Dien Chau District offered to help them and purchased all the dead chickens to feed its tigers on the condition that the poultry would have to be carefully prepared.

The couple could not do the work quickly themselves and had to race against time if they wanted to sell all the dead fowl. That is why all the neighbors came together to help them.

"My house was also flooded, but luckily the damage is less severe. We came to help The, hoping to support him to get as much as possible from the investment," said Tran Thi Tinh, a neighbor. 

According to The's calculations, selling more than three tonnes of dead chickens for VND17,000 (US$0.71) per kilogram could not offset his investment in chicks, food, and medicine.

An official from the Dien Doan People's Committee said heavy rains and floods over the past days have caused great damage to local people's crops, livestock, and poultry. 

The's family has suffered the most damage. It is very gratifying that people in the community are supporting one another in this tricky situation, the official said.

According to the Nghe An Command Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and Search and Rescue, six people had died in the floods by the afternoon of September 30, and another person is still missing.

In addition, upwards of 66,000 heads of livestock were washed away by the floods. 

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