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“Help me, please,” Hung from Linh Son Ward, in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, said over the phone, her voice weak and trembling. “I have a history of stroke and have not eaten or drunk anything all day. I can hardly hold on.”

She had climbed onto the roof at 10 a.m. the same day after her house was submerged under more than two meters of water.

Her son, who lives in Hanoi, 80 km away, was unable to help, and neighbors could not reach her as the floodwaters rose too quickly. She used a ladder to climb to safety. More than 13 hours later, she was still waiting for rescue.

Her son called emergency hotlines, but rescue teams could not reach her due to deep water and strong currents. “Many of my neighbors are also trapped, most of them elderly,” she said.

At midnight, she sent a text to her son: “My phone battery is almost dead. The water is still rising. Just 30 centimeters more and it will reach the roof.”

Heavy rain hit Thai Nguyen from Monday night due to Typhoon Matmo. Some areas in the province recorded rainfall of up to 500 mm between 7 p.m. on Monday and 7 a.m. on Tuesday. Low-lying wards such as Gia Sang and Phan Dinh Phung were completely submerged. The Thai Nguyen Hydrometeorological Station warned of possible historic flooding on the Cau River, with 21 out of 92 communes and wards at risk of further inundation.

In Linh Son Ward, Tran Thi Hien’s family faced the same fate. Seven members, including her elderly parents, younger brother, and three children aged 11, 5, and 4, sat on the rooftop under a nylon sheet for shelter.

Their clothes were soaked, and they survived the day on dry instant noodles. By 9 p.m., the floodwaters were just half a meter from their ceiling.

“It is still raining heavily. We called rescue teams since morning, but they said the water is too deep and swirling for boats to enter,” Hien quivered.

She feared that another downpour would force the family to move onto a smaller terrace, which might not have enough room for all seven people. Their house is located near the Cau River.

Early on Tuesday, the water entered and rose about one meter before stopping, leading them to believe they were safe. But by 11 a.m., the water surged again, sweeping away furniture. The family climbed to the roof to wait for help.

Amid the chaos, her 16-year-old son rowed a boat to seek help at a community hall 500 meters away. Halfway there, the boat was caught in a whirlpool and capsized. The floodwaters swept him about 30 meters before local residents pulled him to safety.

In Quyet Thang Hamlet, Linh Son Ward, 50-year-old Hoang Thi Niem and her husband were also waiting for rescue.

They were luckier than most, having managed to bring along a small gas stove. “We have only a pot of plain porridge to survive the day, and the gas is nearly out,” Niem said.

Their one-story house in a low-lying area was almost submerged, and they had climbed to the roof early that morning.

From their vantage point, she could see a nearby family of three stranded on their rooftop, with no food. “We can see each other and I wanted to offer help, but the water between us is too deep and strong to cross,” she said.

Throughout Tuesday, social media was flooded with urgent calls for help from residents across Thai Nguyen province and surrounding districts, including Vo Nhai, Phu Luong, Dong Hy, and Dai Tu.

By nightfall, the number of emergency posts surged, as many people had been trapped for more than 10 hours, with no food, water, or phone power.

Dam Quang Tuyen, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Thai Nguyen province, said by Tuesday evening, many areas were still completely isolated, with no communication or access.

The primary cause was the rapid rise in water levels, surpassing all predictions and previous records, he said. “The speed of the rising water was terrifying; in just a few hours, everything was submerged.”

Rescue teams were working around the clock, but he called for additional support. “We hope to receive help from people inside and outside the province,” he said. “Thai Nguyen has never faced a disaster this severe in a century.”