Periods without lights or even water have become common for many people of late, in both cities and the country. Life was particularly harsh for many on extremely hot days in May and June when the electricity was cut off.

During the hot first half of June, people truly suffered. One day, then another without electricity. People tried to adapt. Mr Vu Ba Hung from Hanoi’s Ha Dong district remembers those tough days. “My two kids can’t stand hot weather and whenever the power was cut they cried,” he said. “We took them to restaurants, where they had air conditioning, while waiting for the electricity to come back on. If the power was out at night, I took the family to a hotel.” People in cities, he added, were luckier than those in the country, because they had alternatives. People in rural areas had no other choice but to stay at home, sweltering and waiting by candlelight for the electricity to come back on. “I called my parents, who live in the country, and they were using hand fans to fight off the hot weather,” he said.

Ms Truong Thi Hao from Liem Chung village in Phu Ly city, Ha Nam province, said the heat in May and June was terrible for people in the village because the electricity was cut nearly every day. “Some days it was off from 5am to 4pm, other days from 2pm to 10pm,” she said. “The nights without power were the worst.” 

Ms Nguyen Thi Lan, also from the village, said her four-year-old son couldn’t sleep when there was no electricity at night. “I used a hand fan to keep him cool,” she said. “But whenever I stopped he cried. Both of us were very tired the next morning.” Many children in the village, she added, had red spots on their bodies because of the heat.

It seems children are among the most vulnerable when the electricity is cut. Those fortunate to attend schools with generators fared better than most, as at least there was light and electric fans. The majority, though, had to swelter through temperatures or 40C or more with no electricity, and many suffered from heat rash, scarlet fever and digestive disorders. Ms Ngoc, the headmistress of a nursery school in Tay Ho district, Hanoi, said: “The frequent power cuts caused a lot of difficulties for our teachers in taking care of the kids. They had to wipe sweat from their faces and fan them while they slept. Although we have a generator, we couldn’t use the television or DVDs. So lessons were affected, as were the kids’ other normal activities.” 

Families with old people and children were in a very difficult situation. The children were ill from the heat and the elderly did their best to cope with temperatures of 40C without electricity. Ms Nguyen Thi Lan, a staff member at a hospital in Tho Xuan district in Thanh Hoa province said the number of sick children increased sharply in June, suffering mainly from typhus and digestive disorders.

The situation at the Nhu Xuan General Hospital in Thanh Hoa was much worse. Like other areas in Nhu Xuan district, the power was also cut at the hospital many times during the first half of June, greatly affecting the quality of healthcare services. Mr Ho Van Chung, Head of the Surgical Department, said the hospital was without electricity for many days until 1am or 2am. Mr Ha Cong Tac, Vice President of the Hospital said, “In the mountainous areas of Nhu Xuan district, healthcare services are mostly provided by the public hospital. So when there were power cuts the quality of services was obviously reduced. Our hospital had to rush some emergency cases to Thanh Hoa Provincial General Hospital.”  

“Without electricity we can’t use x-ray machines and ultrasound equipment, which creates difficulties for doctors in patient diagnosis,” said Mr Chung. When the power was off, doctors used normal bistouries instead of electric ones, which can lead to blood loss and scarring, Mr Tac said. Ventilators are also out, so doctors and nurses had to manually help some patients to breathe. Ms Mai, a nurse in the Obstetrics Department, said: “During surgery, when the power was cut without notice, doctors and nurses made use of torches or light from their mobile phones to continue the surgery.” 

Since water at the hospital comes from wells, it also had no water when the power cut. Sanitation could not be guaranteed, said Ms Mai. Patients had no electric lights or fans, which made their days in the hospital very uncomfortable. Ms Nghia, a patient, said: “I have no choice. My ailment must be cured, so I have to stay here without light or water.” 

All administrative and financial systems at the hospital were also interrupted. Procedures for hospitalisation, paying hospital fees or buying medicine slowed or even stopped. Some patients couldn’t be issued medicine after their doctor’s diagnosis, and had to come back another day, Mr Chung said.   

The hospital had a three-kilowatt generator, but it can’t supply electricity to all wards and power the medical equipment. The generator is expensive to run, but isn’t very effective, said Mr Tac. Ms Mai said that for emergency cases the hospital called upon patients’ relatives to buy fuel for the generator.