HANOI: Heavy rain from Wednesday (Sept 16) night through Thursday morning has caused widespread flooding in Hanoi, with many areas recording rainfall of more than 150mm, disrupting traffic and daily activities.
According to the city's Department of Construction, flooding has affected western, southern and central parts of the city, with water reaching nearly one metre deep in some areas.
As of Thursday morning, total rainfall since Monday had exceeded 400mm, with some areas recording more than 500mm, as a tropical depression combined with the intertropical convergence zone brought prolonged heavy rain to the capital.
Water levels in the drainage system, canals, regulating lakes and drainage routes have remained high, reducing their capacity to store and regulate water.
Daily commuters struggled to wade through flooded streets on their way to work on Thursday morning, while many schools canceled classes or switched to online teaching.
Travelling on Trieu Khuc Street, resident Nguyen Cao Hai Danh said several sections of the street were deeply flooded, forcing residents to walk their motorbikes through flooded areas.
Drainage crews were working urgently to clear the flooding, he said, adding that residents should avoid low-lying areas and locations where deep flooding has been reported.
During prolonged heavy rain, residents are also advised to avoid traveling during peak hours where possible.
If travel is unavoidable, motorists should maintain a steady throttle and avoid sudden braking when passing through flooded areas to prevent damage to their engines.
Fearing the motorbike would stall, Tran Hung, 50, and his 17-year-old son pushed their motorbike close to the pavement and moved slowly.
“Our neighbourhood is completely flooded. My son and I had to walk along the main road so he wouldn’t be late for school,” Hung said.
Their journey to Kuong Dinh High School took 1.5 hours, compared with the usual 15-minute trip.
At HH2D Duong Noi apartment complex in Hadong, Mai Quynh had her three children, who attend Yen Nghia Secondary School and Le Quy Don Primary School, stay home from school, although their schools are only a few hundred metres away.
Quynh said heavy rain throughout the night left the residential area surrounded by more than one metre of water, cutting off several routes. Numerous vehicles, including buses, broke down in the floodwaters.
She and her husband asked to work remotely. At 7.30am, the schools announced that students in deeply flooded areas could stay home, with teachers arranging make-up classes later.
Meanwhile, Duc Hai, 30, who lives on Dong Me Street in Tu Lem Ward, turned back while pushing his motorbike home because his route to work through Me Tri, Pham Hung and Tran Duy Hung streets was severely flooded.
“If I kept going, I would almost certainly damage the motorbike, so I chose to work from home for safety,” Hai said.
The city’s Department of Education and Training asked schools to proactively adjust the timing and format of classes and educational activities based on weather conditions and directions from competent authorities.
Schools must not organise outdoor or group activities in areas at risk of flooding, landslides, falling trees or other safety hazards.
They must also establish continuous communication channels with parents to coordinate the supervision and safe pickup and drop-off of students, and ensure that students do not travel on their own through deeply flooded areas, fast-flowing water or areas where hazards have been reported.
While urban areas are bearing the direct impact of heavy rain, water levels on the Bui, Tích and Day rivers in the suburban areas remain high, increasing the risk of flooding in low-lying areas and riverside residential communities.
Military personnel assist in reinforcing an embankment to prevent floodwater from entering a riverside residential area along the Bui River.
The Hanoi Civil Defence Command has issued a flood alert for the Tích, Day and Nhue rivers, with low-lying areas along those rivers being placed at a high risk of flooding.
Local authorities are maintaining forces on standby, monitoring deeply flooded areas and preparing evacuation plans for residents if necessary.
Prolonged torrential rain and flooding across northern and north-central regions caused three houses to collapse, damaged 21 others and inundated 2,291 houses as of Thursday morning, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
More than 10,000 hectares of rice, crops and other agricultural plants had been flooded.
In Nghe An province alone, 195 livestock and nearly 12,000 poultry had died or been swept away.
A total of 92 landslide sites and 35 flooded locations were reported across the regions, including many along national highways.
Three people from the same family in Da Bac Commune, Phu Tho province died after they were buried when an upslope landslide sent about 40cu.m of soil and rocks from the hillside behind a residential area into a house on Thursday morning.
Amid the complicated developments of the floods, local authorities in the northern and north-central localities safely evacuated 732 households with nearly 3,000 people from dangerous areas.
Central Thanh Hoa Province alone relocated 452 households with 1,813 people, while northern Phu Tho prrovince moved 252 households with 1,040 people. — Vietnam News/ANN
