Da Nang authorities are taking  proactively drastic measures in response to the severe flooding, devastating some parts of Da Nang. It was caused by torrential downpours sweeping across Da Nang over recent days.

Barricades built to prevent the entry to flooded areas in Hoa Vang District’s Hoa Phong Commune

Suburban Hoa Vang District has appeared the worst hit, with 8 of the total 11 communes there were heavily inundated in water, mainly low-lying areas along rivers. Heavy rains have caught many residents here off guard as sudden and large-scale flooding gave them no time to react.

Between 4:00 am and 8:00 am on Thursday, the water level of the Vu Gia River rose to flood alert level 3 (over 9m high) as a result of prolonged torrential rain. As a result, some roads in Hoa Tien Commune turned themselves into rivers, whilst many landslides and a large number of fallen trees adversely obstruct the traffic in Hoa Lien commune.

The retrieving of a broken-down motorbike swept away by strong rainwater inflows in Hoa Vang District

Along some heavily submerged roads, vehicles are lined because traffic slows to a crawl. Many shrimp ponds in Truong Dinh Village, Hoa Lien Commune have been submerged in floodwater.

Staff of local relevant agencies have taken turns to guard at erosion roads relentlessly to clear landslide debris and cascading soil and rocks, as well as issue warning to travellers. Meanwhile, multiple barricades have been built to prevent the entry to the heavily submerged locations.

Many villages in Hoa Lien Commune heavily submerged in floodwaters

Also on Thursday, Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh conducted an inspection visit to Hoa Vang District to instruct rapid response to flooding. As water levels in rivers remained high, the district authorities are making all-out efforts to deal with inundation, flashfloods, and mudslides.

Municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh city (left) checking the process of rainwater drainage at the An Trach Dam

Vice Chairman Minh underlined a must-do to keep a closer eye on the situation around flood and downpours to have timely emergency assistance for the safety of local residents and minimise the loss to the lowest. Residents living in low-lying areas must be evacuated to higher grounds.

Many shrimp ponds in Truong Dinh Village, Hoa Lien Commune submerged in floodwater

Mr Nguyen Bac Phuong, a shrimp farmer in Truong Dinh Village, complained that 5 quintals of shrimp have been swept out by floodwaters.

As of Friday evening, torrential downpours-sparked devastating flooding in Central Viet Nam had left 12 people dead and missing in total the Steering Board for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has reported.

In his recent dispatch to administrations and related competent agencies of central region localities, the Vietnamese Prime Minister urged them to take proactive solutions to cope with flooding which has been aggravating their localities.

In particular, evacuation is needed in deeply submerged areas. Coerced evacuation must be conducted in case that people refuse to move.

Maintenance and rescue work must be carried out to find missing people, and governments of central region localities should pay visits to family members of dead people. Evacuated people must be provided with food, clothes and safe shelters.

Into Sunday, moderate to heavy downpours, accompanied by thunderstorms, are highly likely to pour down onto mid-central regional localities stretching from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai, the Mid-Central Region Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting has warned.

Cascading soil and rocks blocking a road connecting Hoa Lien Commune with Hoa Bac Commune, making travelling more difficult

Many sugarcane fields in Hoi Yen and Nam Yen villages, Hoa Bac Commune heavily flooded

The river water level in central region localities will rise to dangerous line even exceeding the third-state warning level.

Da Nang is forecast to get heavily soaked by the irritating wet weather with heavy downpours and thunderstorms in the coming days, amid fears over rainfall accumulations.

Local residents using boats to get through a massive volume of floodwaters in Hoa Phong Commune

In particular, warnings on landslides and flash floods have been issued for some vulnerable mountainous areas in these wet weather-raged districts of Hoa Vang and Lien Chieu. Meanwhile, flooding is also likely to batter some vulnerable lowland areas there.

All pupils from primary to high schools across Da Nang have been allowed to be off school from 8-9 October following the fresh approval of the Da Nang Department of Education and Training.

By HOANG HIEP, NGOC DOAN – Translated by A.T