Downpours trigger traffic jams, property damage in northern Vietnam

Hanoi’s Hoang Mai District recorded rain levels at over 130 mm from Monday night, followed by Hai Ba Trung District at 100 mm, and Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Long Bien districts at 80 mm.

Co Linh and Ngoc Lam streets in Long Bien are heavily inundated. The section under the overpass on Thien Duc Street was over 30 cm deep, causing vehicles to slow down. Some motorbikes were flooded and could not start again and had to wait to be rescued.

The Thang Long Boulevard section running through Bao Son Paradise theme park in Hoai Duc District was 30-40 cm deep, though the inundation was not as severe as what happened Monday morning.

The downpour occurred right during peak hours on Tuesday morning, triggering huge traffic jams. On Khuat Duy Tien Street, cars were frozen still, while motorbikes had to run on pavements. Similar situations happened on other streets like Dai La, Tran Huu Duc, Truong Chinh, Tay Son and Ho Tung Mau.

In Bac Ninh Town outside Hanoi, heavy rains since Monday night showed no sign of stopping, amounting to over 120 mm. The Lac Long Quan Street section at an underbridge in Kinh Bac Ward was over 50 cm deep.

Ngo Van Thuc, head of the urban management committee of Bac Ninh, said the section is the lowest point of the city, which explains the heavy inundation. There was already an automatic pump in place, but it wasn’t enough, he said.

“We are mobilizing all urban environment workers to go to checkpoints and warn the people. We will add more pumps to the Lac Long Quan underbridge section to get the water out,” he added.

In Vinh Phuc Province’s Vinh Yen Town, heavy rains from Monday night amounted to around 110 mm. Streets like Me Linh, Ton Duc Thang and Nguyen Tat Thanh were all inundated.

In Phu Tho, downpours have rendered multiple locations in Cam Khe, Phu Ninh, Doan Hung and Thanh Ba districts to be inundated. It is right before harvest season so many fields were affected.

The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said 37 houses were damaged, 1,000 ha of crops and 10 ha of aquaculture were also either inundated or swept away starting Monday night. It also reported rocks and rubbles falling onto roads in some areas.

A low-pressure area over northern Vietnam regions triggered rains starting May 19, but the heaviest ones appeared since last Saturday.

Widespread rains should subside starting Wednesday in northern and central Vietnam, though mountainous areas in the north may see rains continuing for several more days, meteorologists said ].