HUE, Vietnam (UCAN) -- Catholic students with their friends helped rescue the elderly, orphans and women from devastating floods that have claimed dozens of lives in central Vietnam.

Torrential rains Nov. 24-29 flooded Thua Thien-Hue province, central Vietnam, 658 kilometers south of Ha Noi. Many wards were submerged under as much as two meters of water, including in Hue city, where a number of universities are located.

As the rain continued to fall, Joseph Vu Dam Xuyen waded along a street through chest-deep water to help two schoolgirls carry bicycles, clothes, books and other belongings from their flooded boarding room to a higher place. The street is in an area of Hue that was inundated by water mixed with garbage and excrement from latrines and livestock sheds.

Xuyen was among many male college students who traveled around the flooded residential areas to help female college students and local residents save what they could from their flooded houses. The college student said he was sad to see people's belongings ruined by the floods.

He and his friends were unfazed by the cold and dirty water, Xuyen told UCA News, as long as they could help those in need of assistance.

The provincial flood and storm control bureau reported that the floods claimed the lives of seven people, while 19 more were reported missing. More than 230 homes were damaged and 67,000 families needed urgent relief.

Thua Thien-Hue province suffered the greatest loss, estimated at 107 billion dong (US$6.7 million). Other affected provinces included Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Quang Tri, which were also submerged due to heavy rains as Typhoon Muifa passed south of Vietnam on its way east from the Philippines.

According to government information, at least 41 people died in the five central provinces, where the flooding also destroyed 21,000 houses, 500 classrooms and 30 health-care centers. Floodwaters inundated nearly 1,000 hectares of rice paddy fields and more than 10,000 hectares of other crops. Losses are estimated at 346 billion dong.

Joseph Vu Van Tuan, a Catholic student, said his boarding place was not flooded, since it was on higher ground. But, he said, he could not stay at home knowing that many other students were facing difficulty and needing help. Tuan said he and friends went out in the pouring rain and waded through flooded Hue streets to bring children, elderly people and women to safety.

Vincent Tran Van Duy said that on the night the floodwaters rose, he and some friends went to a State-run orphanage in Hue to move food, appliances and orphans to safer places. Two women look after 30 orphans at the center, located near a now-swollen river.

Other Catholic students said they let friends and travelers stay in their boarding houses during the heavy rains. One of the travelers, who was on his way from Ho Chi Minh City to the northern province of Ha Tinh, told UCA News the students gave them accommodations and meals as if they were relatives.

Many trains and buses could not run, because railways, roads and bridges were damaged by floods. Some local people said they were not prepared to fight floods because the central region had been experiencing a severe drought.

Marie Le Thi Tuyet, a student affected by the floods, said her books and other belongings were soaked. She could not return to her boarding room due to the deep water. Tuyet, 19, told UCA News: "My friends have encouraged me. They gave me meals and a place to stay at their boarding house during the last few days. They have even lent me their clothes."

Many people were moved by the death of Tran Thi Mai, a woman in Quang Binh province who reportedly died in the flood after she tried to rescue two neighbors. Her husband and seven children survived.

Prior to the floods, a hurricane had struck Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh provinces, destroying 388 houses and 452 hectares of crops.

Father Antoine Nguyen Ngoc Son, secretary general of Catholic bishops' Episcopal Commission for Charitable and Social Services, told UCA News on Dec. 2 that he would visit Hue archdiocese and neighboring Da Nang diocese to estimate the extent of the damage and draw up a relief plan.

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