Vinh City: Explaining the reason why many streets are still heavily flooded after heavy rain

The results of the rainfall measurement of the North Central Hydrometeorological Station on the morning of November 25 showed that the area that suffered the most rainfall during this period was Vinh City with a total rainfall of 709 mm in 3 days, about 200 mm less than the record for the highest rainfall in 2019. Specifically, on November 23 it was 217 mm, on November 24 it was 370 mm and on November 25 it was 122 mm.

Heavy rain flooded Hoang Phan Thai Street to Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Avenue on the evening of November 24. Photo: Contributor

The next areas in Nghe An province with heavy rain are Cua Hoi area with 452 mm, Trang market area 409 mm, Hon Ngu area 299 mm, Nam Dan town, Nam Dan district 275 mm, Do Luong town 2 stations measured from 244-269 mm, Tay Hieu (Thai Hoa) 241 mm, Yen Thuong station 188 mm; the remaining areas average from 50-84 mm.

To support people, on the same day and evening of November 24, the Traffic Police Team arranged many teams of soldiers to be on duty to guide traffic flow and assist people in getting their vehicles out of flooded areas. Photo: Contributor

Heavy rain at the end of the season, along with some subjective mentality, many manholes, collection pits... after the construction season, fallen leaves were not collected, soil, rocks, garbage and manholes were not jacked, so after the first day of moderate rain, on the second day of heavy rain, it caused severe flooding on many streets.

Due to limited drainage capacity, Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Avenue, from the intersection of Road 72 (Vinh - Cua Lo) to the headquarters of Mai Linh Taxi Company, was still heavily flooded until 9:00 a.m. on November 25. Photo: Nguyen Hai

The Standing Representative of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Rescue of Vinh City said: With the rain at the end of the season, Vinh City has mobilized maximum manpower and large-capacity pumping stations located in vulnerable areas to run for 3 consecutive days to pump water into drainage ditches, thereby limiting flooding in the Vinh market area and helping some other areas drain faster than expected. Despite the heavy rain, after stopping from 10 p.m. on November 24, by 6 a.m. on November 25, many streets were dry.

However, after the recent heavy rain, objective assessment shows that the capacity of the drainage system to prevent flooding still has shortcomings and limitations, and the operation, flood prevention and drainage work still has some subjectivity, especially at the grassroots and block levels.

Nghi Phu gas station west of Xo Viet Nghe Tinh street was still flooded as of 9am on November 25. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Avenue from the front gate of the Provincial General Hospital to Vinh airport and vice versa until 9am on November 25 was still half flooded, making it difficult for vehicles to move. Photo: Nguyen Hai

A new hotspot for flooding in Vinh City is at the intersection from the side gate of the Provincial Traffic Police Department to the Quan Bau 5-way intersection, National Highway 1A. According to the Urban Management Department, in addition to the drainage system being too small, this route is not yet connected to the general drainage system to flow into the North Canal, so every time it rains heavily, it floods. Photo: Nguyen Hai

Workers maintain generators to power field pumps 600-1,000 m3/hour at bridge point 3/2 Ha Huy Tap ward, water is sucked from the canal system west of Lenin Avenue into the North canal. Photo: Nguyen Hai

It is known that since 2020, the city has prioritized investing over 70 billion VND to upgrade infrastructure and prevent flooding, but due to some streets having no manpower to dredge and clear waste, sump pits, and wells when it rains heavily, the drainage ditches have become congested; in addition, some streets have drainage ditches but the drainage ditches are small in aperture, so they are still heavily flooded and drain quite slowly./.