Heavy rains cause serious flooding in central region

Heavy rains submerge Phan Chu Trinh Road in Tam Ky District, the central province of Quang Nam. - VNA/VNS Photo Do Truong

Earlier on Saturday evening, strong currents from the province’s municipal Dong Ha Township entered the house of Pham Quoc Viet and broke a big hole in the house’s back wall, sweeping Việt, his wife and his mother-in-law away.

Viet was saved by locals while the two women were found dead behind his house. Fortunately, Viet’s three children had been sent to a neighbouring house before the incident.

In the province’s remote Vinh Linh District, strong water broke a wall and made it fall into a man passing by, breaking his leg.

Various districts in the coastal city of Da Nang were inundated on Sunday afternoon, according to the municipal Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Rescue.

Hai Chau District suffered from 30cm-1m high floodwater, making it difficult for vehicles to travel.

Downpour also submerged Ngu Hanh Son District by 30-50cm floodwater, with about 33ha of vegetables in the district reportedly damaged.

It also submerged Thanh Khe District, causing obstacles for people to access the municipal coach terminal.

The rainfall in the city measured yesterday morning was 115-300mm.

The municipal steering committee assigned workers to be on duty around the clock to deal with the consequences of the flooding.

Nearly 2,000 students will be excused from school today to ensure their safety, said Nguyen Dình Vinh, director of the Da Nang Department of Education and Training.

By yesterday noon, the Highway 1A and the north-south railway passing Hoa Vang District in Da Nang City was out of order due to flooding measured at 50-60cm.

Lieutenant colonel Lê The Chien, from the Hoa Phuoc Traffic Police Station, said the north-south railway area faced a high risk of landslide, and the police had to go on patrol to give warnings to drivers.

Huynh Van Son, deputy director of the Quang Nam-Da Nang Railway Corporation, said the company had suspended its services to ensure safety.

Elsewhere, torrential rainfall brought severe floods Ha Tinh and Nghe An provinces.

In Ha Tinh, torrential rains on Friday evening created heavy flooding on the National Highway 1A section across the province. The flood blocked traffic on the highway for hours on Saturday.

In Nghe An, 730 houses and 1,500ha of crops, 244ha of fishing ponds were flooded, while traffic in many parts of Vinh City was paralysed.

Meanwhile, many flights to Thua Thien-Hue were cancelled due to bad weather and several airplanes had to land in other airports as landing at local Phu Bai Airport was prevented by heavy rain.

The rain continued over the weekend in the province, with average rainfall of 65mm to 90mm. Water in the reservoirs around the province has reached the maximum level and many of them were in danger of breaking.

Water in local rivers has exceeded the green level. Once it reaches the yellow level, flooding will occur in the lowland areas of these central provinces.