Urgent response to urban flooding in Hai Phong. Part 1: Streets become rivers

Every time it rains heavily, many streets in Hai Phong turn into rivers. Especially when the rain is combined with high tides, the flooding situation is more serious.

The central urban area of ​​Hai Phong city was deeply flooded in the rain on October 14. Photo: BUI LAN

Old and new urban areas are flooded.

October 14th was the second time in 2025 that the central urban area of ​​Hai Phong city was flooded. Heavy rain lasted from 5am to early afternoon with rainfall measured up to 182mm by 1pm that day. Heavy rain lasting for many hours combined with a 4.3m high tide paralyzed the entire drainage system, preventing water from draining into rivers and seas. The reservoirs exceeded their capacity, and water overflowed the embankments.

The entire central urban area in the East of the city has up to 83 flooded points and areas, some of which are 40 - 50 cm deep, such as: area 312 Hung Vuong street, the intersection of Le Dai Hanh and Tran Hung Dao streets, number 53 Cau Dat, lane 2 Bui Thi Tu Nhien, under Lac Long bridge... Water flooded into people's houses, traffic on many roads was stagnant, vehicles broke down in the middle of the road.

This is not the most serious flood in the history of urban flooding in Hai Phong in recent years. On September 6, 2024, heavy rain lasted continuously for many hours, turning the urban area in the East of Hai Phong into a river. The measured rainfall was up to 300 mm.

As a coastal city, surrounded by many major river systems, flooding is not a problem for Hai Phong city because thanks to these natural conditions, when there is heavy rain, water drains conveniently and quickly, flowing directly into the river and sea.

However, flooding has now become a constant worry, causing concern for city residents. Ms. Le Thi Thanh, a water seller at 312 Hung Vuong Street (Hong Bang Ward) shared that just a little rain is enough to flood this area. Heavy rain for 1 hour can turn the whole neighborhood into a river. This situation has lasted for many years, the frequency of flooding increases each year and becomes more and more serious...

Not only the old neighborhoods and core urban areas with low-lying foundations, narrow land and dense population, but also the new urban areas of the city have recorded serious flooding in recent years such as the areas of Hai An, Do Son, Hung Dao wards...

Ngo Quyen Street area, the central western urban area, was deeply flooded after the rain on May 23, 2025.

According to the Department of Construction, the eastern urban area of ​​the city alone has 16 "black spots" of flooding. Rainfall of over 50 mm combined with high tides causes deep flooding such as: area 312 Hung Vuong street, Dinh Dong roundabout area, Truong Chinh street, Tran Tat Van street, Le Loi area, Luong Khanh Thien, Anh Dung 3 urban area, Trung Luc street, Nguyen Don street, the intersection area of ​​​​Area 1 Do Son sea square...

In the western urban area of ​​the city, the frequency of floods is also increasing. The central urban area in the wards of Hai Duong , Le Thanh Nghi, and Tu Minh only needs rainfall of over 70 mm to be flooded. Typically, on May 23, 2025, heavy rain lasted for 2 hours with rainfall of up to 95 mm, causing many streets such as Ngo Quyen, Nguyen Luong Bang, Nguyen Thi Due, Vu Huu, Co Dong,... to be flooded from 30 - 60 cm deep.

Through many rains, it shows that although the rain has stopped for many hours, many residential areas and low-lying alleys are still flooded.

Flooding "reaches" the suburbs

Some vegetable growing areas in An Phong ward were flooded during the 2025 storm season. Photo: DINH MUOI

Not only in the central urban areas, but also in the suburban and suburban areas, flooding occurs in many places. Many fields are submerged due to rising river water, irrigation systems, and irrigation canals that cannot drain water in time...

It has been more than a year, but recalling the flood in June 2024, Ms. Cao Thi Xuyen, in Minh Kha residential group, An Hai ward, still regrets that her family's large area of ​​​​ornamental kumquat trees was flooded. After 2 days of rain, the entire kumquat and peach fields were deeply submerged in water. When the tide receded, many households had to stay up all night to build banks and pump water to prevent flooding. However, about 40 hectares of peach and kumquat trees in the Minh Kha field area were flooded, many areas were severely damaged.

An Phong Ward is a new urban area near the center of Hai Phong city. With the rapid urbanization, the flooding situation in this ward is increasingly serious, especially in the areas of roads in Trang Due and An Duong industrial zones. The recent heavy rains have shown that the drainage capacity is very slow.

Mr. Pham Van Tuan, a worker at Lianyue Vietnam Co., Ltd. (An Duong Industrial Park) said that after heavy rains, many internal roads in the industrial park were flooded, and the flooding level became more and more serious. After many heavy rains, the roads were flooded up to 30-40 cm, making it difficult for vehicles to travel, and workers were late for work...

Flooding in the western suburbs of the city is also complicated. People growing vegetables and peach trees in Tan Hung ward, Gia Loc commune... are very worried every time there is heavy rain. The drainage system in many places is encroached, narrow, and silted up, so the drainage capacity is very slow. Many families lost everything after investing large amounts of money in growing crops and ornamental plants, but the weather was unfavorable, and heavy rain caused prolonged flooding.

Lesson 2: Drainage infrastructure like a 'tight shirt'

GROUP OF REPORTERS

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/khan-truong-ung-pho-ngap-lut-do-thi-o-hai-phong-bai-1-duong-pho-thanh-song-524973.html