A soldier of Regiment 68, Division 312 participate in dyke reinforcement in Phong Mỹ Village, Trung Gia Commune, Hà Nội.— VNA/VNS Quốc Lũy

HÀ NỘI — Severe flooding has forced authorities in Hà Nội to evacuate nearly 8,500 residents, with more than 10,500 people already affected and plans under way to move around 38,500 others, mostly in the outlying communes of Trung Giã, Thư Lâm, Tiến Thắng, and Đa Phúc.

A report from the city’s Department of Agriculture and Environment on Friday morning said rising waters from the Cầu and Cà Lồ rivers had inundated a number of riverside communes, including Kim Anh, Nội Bài, Sóc Sơn, Tiến Thắng, and Trung Giã.

The city’s Civil Defence Command said 5,866 residents in Trung Giã Commune – from the hamlets of An Lạc, Đô Tân, Lai Sơn, Đo, and Trung Kiên – remain at risk and need to be relocated.

In Đa Phúc Commune, around 30,000 people from 33 hamlets are also in danger and may need to move to safer areas.

Authorities plan to prioritise local, on-site evacuation where possible, using multi-storey buildings for shelter, while others will be temporarily relocated to military and police barracks in nearby communes.

Floodwaters breach dykes

Floodwaters from the Cầu and Cà Lồ rivers have overtopped the surface of the embankment along a 7.5km stretch, with levels ranging from 0.02 to 0.2m above the crest.

Local authorities in Đa Phúc acted swiftly to reinforce the dyke system and protect lives and property from the onset of flooding.

The department reported that while water levels in major rivers flowing through Hà Nội, including the Đà, Hồng (Red) and Đuống rivers, remain below Alarm Level 1, they are still high.

The Cầu River has exceeded Alarm Level 3 by 2.06m and now stands 0.66m above its designed flood level, while the Cà Lồ River is 1.56m above Alarm Level 3 and 0.06 metres above its design flood level of 9.5 metres.

Water levels in most of Hà Nội’s irrigation reservoirs, including Suối Hai, Đồng Quan, Tân Xã, Xuân Khanh, Quan Sơn, Văn Sơn and Kèo Cà, also remain high.

Many households in Ngô Đạo Village, Đa Phúc Commune, Hà Nội are isolated due to rising water levels in Cầu River.— VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

Crops submerged

As of 7am on Friday, Đa Phúc Commune reported 978ha of rice and crops submerged, including 547ha in inland fields and 431ha outside the riverbanks.

Irrigation systems have sustained multiple incidents, including a 15m embankment slide at the Tăng Long pumping station, a 30m slide along the Bến Tre drainage canal and more than 250m of irrigation channels damaged or tilted.

Six local road sections have also been reported as partially flooded.

On the Tả Cà Lồ dyke, three landslide spots have appeared, with sections at K17+700 and K8+270 each collapsing over 30m.

In Trung Giã Commune, severe erosion and washouts have caused water to breach the Hà Thái railway embankment near Thống Nhất, Trung Kiên, and Đo hamlets along a 20m stretch. Eighteen hamlets, home to 4,041 households, have been isolated.

Authorities have also urged farmers to harvest their late-season rice as quickly as possible.

As of Friday, about 500ha remain unharvested. — VNS