Hanoi is ready to urgently evacuate 30,000 people due to flooding.
Facing the risk of dike breaches and rapidly rising floodwaters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh personally went to the scene to direct the evacuation of residents, requesting Hanoi to prepare a plan for the emergency relocation of 30,000 people to ensure their safety.
The Prime Minister directly supervised operations overnight in the flooded Trung Giã area.
On the evening of October 9th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was present in Trung Gia commune (Soc Son district, Hanoi) to directly inspect and direct the emergency response as floodwaters from the Cau and Ca Lo rivers overflowed the Luong Phuc dike, threatening residential areas within the dike.
Accompanying them were Hanoi Party Secretary Bui Thi Minh Hoai, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen, and representatives of various functional forces.
The Prime Minister stated that he had traveled to the scene just 3 minutes after receiving the emergency information, and instructed Hanoi to immediately activate large-scale evacuation plans to prevent people from being put in dangerous situations when floodwaters rise unexpectedly.
Ready to evacuate 30,000 people overnight.
At an emergency meeting held near the critical dike, the Prime Minister instructed Hanoi to prepare all necessary vehicles, equipment, and personnel to evacuate 30,000 residents in case the dike breaks or overflows. The number of vehicles, personnel, and assembly areas must be clearly assigned to ensure that all situations can be responded to promptly during the night.
If the Cong River dike remains safe, residents will not need to leave; however, in a worst-case scenario, evacuation must be swift, orderly, and absolutely safe. Local authorities are required to provide public and transparent information so that residents are aware of the situation and ready to move when ordered.
Immediately following the Prime Minister's directive, two army divisions stationed in Hanoi were mobilized, ready to participate in rescue operations, ensure security, and assist in the evacuation of residents. The priority was given to getting the elderly, children, and people with disabilities out of the dangerous areas first.
The Prime Minister also instructed authorities to prepare evacuation centers at schools, cultural centers, and sports facilities, while stockpiling food, water, and temporary shelter for the people. The Prime Minister emphasized that all levels must absolutely not be complacent, even for just a few hours.
Hanoi is urgently implementing a plan to respond to and evacuate residents.
Following the directive, City Party Secretary Bui Thi Minh Hoai affirmed that the city had clearly assigned tasks to each unit, expanded the scale of the response, and was ready to evacuate 30,000 people from the dangerous area. The People's Committee of Trung Gia commune also held an emergency meeting that night to implement relocation measures if necessary.
Later that afternoon, the water level of the Cau River at the Luong Phuc station reached 9.99m, 1.99m higher than alarm level 3. The rapidly rising water cut off many roads, paralyzing traffic. National Highway 3 and inter-communal roads were flooded to a depth of 1.2 to 1.5m, completely isolating many residential areas.
Over 14,000 people have been evacuated, and thousands of personnel were on standby throughout the night.
According to preliminary statistics, the entire Trung Giã commune has 3,799 households with more than 14,000 people directly affected by the floods. Civil defense forces have been mobilized to the maximum extent, organizing rescue teams using boats and specialized vehicles to evacuate people from deeply flooded areas, while also providing food, clean water, and essential supplies to households that remain isolated.
The right embankment of the Cau River remains a hotspot with many landslide locations, including a 7.5km stretch from K18+500 to K26+000 where flooding occurred, with water levels ranging from 0.1 to 0.3m.
Authorities mobilized thousands of people, including 600 army officers and soldiers, to reinforce the dike and erect sand barriers and waterproof tarpaulins to prevent the risk of collapse.
Rescue forces maintained 100% staffing throughout the night, closely monitoring water levels in the Cau and Ca Lo rivers. The Tan Hung, Cam Ha II, Tang Long, and Tien Tao pumping stations operated at full capacity to reduce pressure on the area within the dike.
