Lenin Boulevard in Nghệ An Province’s Vinh City was flooded due to prolonged heavy rains on October 15-16. — VNA/VNS Nguyễn Oanh

NGHỆ AN — While officials in Vinh City attributed the worst flooding in the city’s history to excessive rainfall, local residents said a lack of adequate drainage and rapid urbanisation were the main causes of the inundation, Người Lao Động (Labourer) newspaper reported.

Heavy rains on October 15-16 killed three and caused VNĐ80 billion (US$3.4 million) in losses to property and crops, according to the People’s Committee of Vinh City in central Nghệ An Province.

As many as 5,680 houses were inundated. Traffic congestion and power cuts caused by the flooding have affected the lives of local residents for several days. 

Vũ Trần Tuấn, a resident from Đông Vĩnh Ward, said in spite of upgrades at the beginning of the year, no drainage system had been built on Trần Bình Trọng Street, preventing water from flowing away when it rained.

“We complained to local authorities on the building of the system many times but nothing has been done,” he said.

Cao Văn Toàn, chairman of Đồng Vĩnh Ward’s People’s Committee, said the delay in implementing the projects, including a ditch connecting Phan Thúc Trực Road with Trần Bình Road, was one of the reasons for the flooding.

Similar problems occurred in other wards of the city.

Ponds and lakes have been filled in for construction and unused land has been encroached upon, affecting water drainage.

“In the past, rain water passed through the field into the sewer, but the water flow has been obstructed by the construction of a road connecting Vinh City’s Quán Bàu Ward with Hưng Nguyên District’s Hưng Tây Commune,” Nguyễn Văn Thắng, who lives in Hưng Đông Commune, told the newspaper.

According to Đinh Tiến Dũng, director of Vinh City Urban Infrastructure Development and Management Company, the city’s drainage system failed to keep up with the pace of urbanisation.

Wards had sewers but they were small and inadequate, so they were unable to handle heavy rain, he said.

To cope with the situation, Nghệ An Province’s People’s Committee has asked relevant agencies to review the drainage system and dredge rivers, streams and canals to prevent garbage from obstructing the flow of water, Dũng added. — VNS