Around 500 residents in central Quang Nam's Phuoc Son District, isolated due to the impacts of Storm Molave, trekked 15 km through the forest to collect rice and other essentials. 

On Monday morning, donations of rice, instant noodles, fish sauce and clothing are distributed beside a suspension bridge in Phuoc Kim Commune to flood-hit residents of Phuoc Thanh Commune in Phuoc Son District, isolated in the wake of Storm Molave.

Because of severe road erosion in the area, however, recipient families were forced to trek over 15 km through dense forests to retrieve the much needed supplies.

Soldiers deliver bags of rice to the gathering point.

Quang Nam is one of the hardest hit localities by Storm Molave that left at least 36 people dead as of Tuesday morning, 26 of them killed following multiple landslides across mountainous districts.

Ho Thi Van, a resident of Phuoc Thanh Commune, enlisted to get more clothes for her three children. "My house was swept away by flash floods, so there is nothing left," she lamented.

From Phuoc Kim to Phuoc Thanh Commune, recipients had to walk 15 km via forest paths, the healthy shouldering about 60 kg and the frail, 25 kg.

A daunting, one kilometer mountain slope has to be conquered on the way home. Each trip to collect relief aid takes about four hours.

A woman carrying 40 kg of rice has to bend double to traverse the slippery terrain.

Ho Thi Nhon with 40 kg of rice and some clothes on her shoulders takes a rest amid the forest cover.

"Yesterday (Sunday), I also collected some relief aid, the same as today. Since October 28, heavy rains and floods destroyed my rice reserves," Nho said.

A man laden down with donations ascends a narrow path. "To go up the slope, you have to balance the bag of rice just right, else you would fall backwards," local Ho Van Tu explained.

Ho Van Khanh, 14, carries 25 kg of rice on his shoulders. Khanh is the first child in a family of four. His father carried 50 kg home on Sunday, prompting him to follow suit on Monday morning.

"Storm Goni is drawing near and the road may erode further, so I try to carry more rice home," Khanh stated.

Residents have to struggle over scattered storm debris. In Quang Nam, 19 people are still listed missing, mostly victims of multiple deadly landslides.

Phuoc Thanh Commune is home to 1,900 Gie Trieng ethnic minority families, and around 50 km from the district town.

Storm Molave made landfall over central Quang Nam and Quang Ngai Provinces on October 28, causing 44 houses in the poverty-stricken district to be swept away while burying 42 others.

The storm inflicted economic damage worth around VND10 trillion ($430.16 million), according to statistics from affected provinces, including Quang Nam.