The Great Northern Rush: Generators, Fuel and Phone Connections in High Demand

Residents Queue for Generators and Fuel After Storm Cuts Power in Hai Phong and Ha Long

On September 10th, four days after the third storm of the season battered northern Vietnam, Hai Phong was one of the localities suffering severe consequences. Several days after the storm, central streets were still cluttered with fallen trees and broken electricity and lamp posts.

The lives of residents in Hai Phong’s districts and counties were disrupted, with many areas still lacking electricity, water, gasoline, and other essential goods.

Mr. Van, the owner of a generator store on To Hieu Street, shared that four days after the storm, many central districts and surrounding counties had not yet regained power, leading to a high demand for generators. In just 2-3 days, his store sold hundreds of generators, and he had to hire additional staff to cope with the surge in customers.

Due to the overwhelming demand, the store couldn’t keep up with the supply, leading to customers making deposits and lining up to wait for their turn to purchase a generator.

At a store in Thuy Nguyen County, dozens of people, mostly business owners, lined up to buy generators. Many paid in advance and received a receipt to wait for their turn when the store owner distributed the generators upon their arrival. When a truck carrying generators arrived, people crowded around, holding up their pre-payment receipts to claim their purchase.

Mr. Quang (42 years old, from Thuy Son, Thuy Nguyen) shared that even after making a deposit, he still felt anxious and decided to wait in line for the truck to arrive to get his generator. If he was late, someone else might be quicker and take the generator meant for him, which would be a waste of time.

Despite the scarcity and soaring prices, Mr. Quang decided to purchase a generator as his business could not operate without electricity, and frozen foods would spoil, resulting in significant losses.

Mr. Ngoc, a resident of Hong Bang, shared that he lived on Phan Boi Chau Street, one of the central streets of the city, but due to the collapse of electricity poles, his neighborhood was still without power. As his family ran a catering service, they needed to buy a generator to continue their business.

Despite visiting several stores on the street, he couldn’t find a generator, so his family had to temporarily switch to using gas stoves for cooking to serve their customers.

Mr. Viet, a resident of Minh Tan, Kien Thuy, said that since the storm hit, his area had been without electricity and clean water. While his family didn’t run a business, they needed electricity for phone charging, cooking, and fans, as did their neighbors. So, he and several other households pooled their money to buy a generator to meet their daily essential needs.

Rush to Change Phone SIM Cards

In Hai Phong, communication remains challenging. Many central city areas and outlying counties experience intermittent or non-existent network coverage.

Ms. Trinh, a resident of Hai An, shared that her family used Mobifone, and since the storm, communication with her relatives had been difficult. Even in the city center, connections were unstable, and she could only make a few calls to her office, relatives, and friends throughout the day. As a result, her work and family life were significantly impacted.

Similarly, Mr. Doan, a Mobifone user from Thuy Nguyen, had difficulty connecting with his relatives and office for several days. As a result, he and many others bought SIM cards from other networks to stay connected for work purposes.

After changing his SIM card, Mr. Doan’s communication improved, and he could connect for work, but the signal was still unstable and unreliable at times.

In Ha Long, Quang Ninh, three days after the storm, many areas were without electricity and phone signal. Some people using Vinaphone had a phone signal, while others had to move to a different location to get a connection and communicate.

The storm severely damaged Ha Long’s electrical and telecommunications infrastructure. Service providers like Viettel, Vinaphone, and Mobifone are working to restore services.

Mr. Pham Hoang, a Ha Long resident, said that his home is about 4km from the administrative center of the city, but there is no phone signal. According to him, Vinaphone users have a signal in some areas, but other networks are affected and have no coverage.

Many people have had to change or buy additional Vinaphone SIM cards to stay connected. On the evening of September 9, the company’s staff at service centers worked overtime to assist and meet the needs of Ha Long residents.

“In the past few days, we’ve had no electricity, no network, and no phone signal. It’s been difficult to communicate with my family, so I had to change my SIM card and move to the city center to get a signal to call home,” said Mr. Pham Hoang.

A representative of the Quang Ninh Department of Information and Communications said that the storm had affected the local telecommunications infrastructure, and many areas experienced communication disruptions due to damage to transmission lines. Power and telecommunications units are working urgently to fix the issues and restore power and network services.

Residents Bring Cans to Buy Gasoline for Transportation and Generators

Besides electricity and telecommunications, the demand for gasoline to restore transportation and business operations is also high. Many areas in Hai Phong are running out of fuel.

Mr. Cuong, a resident of Cat Ba, Hai Phong, said that for the past four days, the island had been completely cut off from the mainland. There was no electricity, water, or phone signal, and even the gas stations were empty due to high demand for transportation and the inability of the mainland to supply fuel in time. People borrowed small amounts of gasoline from each other to get around or run generators for emergencies.

According to Mr. Cuong, many residents, business owners, and boat owners were waiting for the mainland to supply fuel. When the ferry resumed operations, people went to the mainland to buy gasoline.

On the evening of September 9, a tanker truck supplied gasoline to Cat Ba, but the demand was still very high, and there was not enough fuel to operate machinery to clean up debris, hotels, and restaurants or run boats.