Hundreds living in flood waters in Vietnam following torrential rain
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A man rowing a boat through floodwaters in Ben Voi village on the outskirts of Hanoi on July 28.
PHOTO: AFP
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HANOI - Hundreds of people are living submerged in flood waters in the suburbs of Hanoi, a week after torrential rain in northern Vietnam caused rivers to overflow their banks.
Residents of Ben Voi village – around 40km from central Hanoi – are travelling through the streets by boat and sleeping in homes partially inundated by muddy water.
“I cannot go anywhere, and neighbours are finding it difficult to come to my shop to buy things,” Ms Tran Thi Ly, who runs a convenience store from the ground floor of her home, told AFP news agency on July 28.
The 70-year-old waded through water almost knee-high as she tried to keep her food supplies dry, moving her instant noodles and soft drinks onto higher shelves.
All her furniture was sitting in the dirty water.
Since early July, flooding and landslides have killed at least 18 people in the country’s northern mountainous areas.
Ben Voi village is a low-lying area prone to flooding after heavy rain, according to the authorities.
It usually experiences two or three days of high water a year, particularly if the Hoa Binh hydropower plant – located in a neighbouring province – needs to discharge water.
When that happens, “the water level of the Red river and the Day river passing Hanoi will rise quickly... affecting communities lower down the river,” a report in Saigon Giai Phong newspaper said.
Around 500 people in Ben Voi have been living in floods for a week now, with no signs of the water receding.
Resident Tran Thi Ly sitting on a hammock in her flooded house in Ben Voi village on the outskirts of Hanoi on July 28.
PHOTO: AFP
“We have been travelling by boat,” said 51-year-old resident Hoang Van Su, adding that the flood waters in the village reached 1.5m in some places.
“It’s hard for us as we struggle to find a dry place to grind rice husks for our daily meal.”
Weather forecasters said more heavy rain would fall in northern Vietnam between July 29 and 31.
The country is often struck by heavy downpours, triggering flooding and landslides.
Scientists have warned that extreme weather events globally are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change.
Natural disasters left 169 people dead or missing in Vietnam in 2023. AFP
