HÀ NỘI — Residents and authorities of Tứ Liên Ward in the city’s Tây Hồ District are struggling to deal with the aftermath of Typhoon Dianmu.

A week has passed since Typhoon Dianmu made landfall in the northern provinces, including Hà Nội, the residential area No 5 of Tứ Liên Ward remained flooded as of Friday morning.

Most of the narrow passageways in the residential area are under 50cm of water, the online Dân Trí newspaper reported.

Deputy Chairman of Tứ Liên Ward People’s Committee Lê Văn Thủy said the cause of the flooding was prolonged heavy rains and a clogged underground sewer system.

This sewer system is 150m long, 2m wide and 2m deep, located under the substructure of Tứ Liên Kindergarten and the People’s Committee  office.

Meanwhile, alley 124 of Âu Cơ Road was under construction and the water drainage system there has not been completed, affecting the drainage system of the whole ward.

Thủy said to tackle the problem of flooded passageways, builders in alley 124 were co-ordinating with local authorities and the drainage company to dig temporary sewers. The company has been asked to prepare a sewer dredging plan in the near future.

Nguyễn Thị Hạnh, the owner of a house submerged in water till its first floor, told Việt Nam News that many families have been forced to block the doors of their houses with sacks of sand, and to shift the elderly and children to safer areas.

Hạnh said Tứ Liên residents were suffering from floods after heavy rains for the fifth time this year, but local authorities had not yet tackled the problem thoroughly.

 Stagnant water, sewage and garbage have been causing a stink as the temperature rises.

 Nguyễn Văn Vinh, a local man said residents have been travelling through flooded alleys for seven days.

 “I have to ride my motorbike through a flooded alley to take children to school. The foam on the water indicates high levels of water pollution,” Vinh, 40, told Việt Nam News.

 “We parents are worried about the health and safety of our children because they are currently surrounded by dirty water.”

To deal with the situation, families have been forced to shift all equipment inside their houses to a higher level to avoid damage by water.

 Some are getting clean water from a pipeline located far from their homes for daily use because dirty water has flooded their potable water tanks. — VNS