Hanoi streets underwater after downpours

Since Sunday night, several Hanoi districts had seen heavy rains due to impacts of a low-pressure area. In the last 12 hours, Son Tay Town recorded rain levels at 170 mm, Hoai Duc District 150 mm, Ha Dong District 120 mm, Ba Vi District 90 mm and Lang Street 50 mm.

A section of the Thang Long Boulevard leading into the Bao Son Paradise theme park in Hoai Duc District saw all four lanes inundated, up to 60 cm deep. Many people had to turn back, unable to enter downtown areas.

Despite warnings from water drainage workers, there were people who tried to walk their vehicles through the water. All for naught, however, as the water proved to be too deep and shut down their engines.

Similarly, Le Trong Tan Street in Ha Dong District also saw flooded sections spanning over 100 m. Many vehicles had to find a different route.

Nguyen Lan Anh, who lives in Hoai Duc District, said she works in Cau Giay District. Normally she would travel on Le Trong Tan, then the Thang Long Boulevard, then Le Duc Tho and finally Ho Tung Mau. But due to all the flooded streets, she had to switch to To Huu Street and was late by two hours due to traffic jams.

Inundation was also seen at the Duong Noi overpass in Ha Dong District from both directions. The water was over 40 cm deep from the entrance of the Xuan Mai Complex to the lanes leading onto the overpass, causing vehicles to choose other routes. Many people missed work on Monday morning.

“Many were unable to go to work this morning because the only entrance onto the overpass was heavily inundated. Several motorbikes saw their engines shut down,” said Chinh, who lives in Xuan Mai Complex. He has never seen such heavy inundations on the road in the past five years, he added.

Several downtown streets of the capital saw severe traffic jams from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., before the water began to recede. By 10 a.m., only certain areas like Tran Duy Hung, Nguyen Hoang and Hoang Minh Giam were still congested.

On Monday and Tuesday, northern and central Vietnam regions would see rain levels up to 150 mm, meteorologists said. Son La, Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc and Thanh Hoa would see rain levels of up to 250 mm.