As Typhoon Wipha (Typhoon No. 3) approaches landfall, several beekeeping households in the coastal commune of Kim Dong, Ninh Binh have urgently rented trucks to transport their hives over 1,500 km to Dong Nai Province to protect them from the storm.

On the evening of July 21, along the Binh Minh 3 dyke in Kim Dong, reporters witnessed locals frantically packing up beehives and loading them onto trucks bound for the South. This precaution aims to shield the bees from the storm’s impact.

Others, unable to relocate in time, had to lower their hives from raised platforms and place them directly on the dyke surface to minimize damage. Some covered the hive entrances with plastic sheeting for protection.

Hoang Van Cuong, a resident of Hamlet 4 in Kim Dong, shared, “My two brothers and I have about 1,300 beehives. Because of the storm, we’re locking them up and loading them into a truck bound for Dong Nai - not only to avoid the storm but also to harvest nectar there.”

According to Cuong, the bees were currently collecting nectar from mangrove flowers along the coast of Kim Dong. However, with the incoming storm, his family was forced to evacuate the bees. “If the storm hits, the bees will fly away, the wind will blow them off, and the hives could be shattered - this would result in major losses,” he added.

Similarly, Tran Van Minh, a beekeeper originally from former Nam Dinh Province, had brought over 500 hives from Vung Tau to Kim Dong just over a month ago - only to now face extreme weather.

“We don’t have time to move them elsewhere,” Minh said. “So my wife and I braved the rain to lower them from their stands to the ground to prevent damage and minimize loss.”

That same evening, many residents in Kim Dong also rushed to retrieve fishing nets and traps for shrimp, crab, and fish from nearby mangroves.

Local authorities in Ninh Binh have instructed relevant departments and agencies to implement a “four-on-the-spot” strategy (on-the-spot command, forces, supplies, and logistics), staying alert to new storm developments and readying localized response plans.