The thousand-year-old Cham tower that once set a world record was severely flooded.

Phu Dien Cham Tower in Hue City - the Cham tower once recognized by the World Records Union as "the first ancient brick Cham tower excavated and preserved deep under coastal sand dunes in the world" - was deeply submerged in floodwaters.

The thousand-year-old Phu Dien Cham Tower was submerged in floodwaters for many days - Photo: T.XUAN

On November 7, the People's Committee of Hue City said it was looking for ways to rescue the Phu Dien Cham Tower (Phu Vinh Commune, Hue City), which has been heavily flooded for many days.

Previously, Hue City experienced a historic flood that lasted 23 days, including times when the highest rainfall in Vietnam's history was recorded in Bach Ma with more than 1,700mm/day.

Due to prolonged heavy rain combined with high tides, Phu Dien Cham tower was deeply submerged in water.

As of November 7, this thousand-year-old structure was still submerged under about 60cm of water.

Faced with the above situation, Mr. Hoang Hai Minh, Vice Chairman of Hue City People's Committee, went directly to the scene to check the flooding situation at Phu Dien Cham tower.

At the time of the inspection, Mr. Minh criticized the management unit and local authorities for being slow in reporting and implementing the treatment plan, allowing the relic to be flooded for many days.

Phu Dien Cham Tower flooded due to heavy rain and high tides at sea - Photo: T.XUAN

Mr. Minh has directed the mobilization of more pumps to pump water, and at the same time directed relevant units and local authorities to be on duty, monitor regularly, ensure that all water is pumped out today and report the results to the City People's Committee.

The management unit of the Phu Dien Cham tower relic was criticized for being slow in reporting, allowing the thousand-year-old relic to be submerged in floodwater for many days - Photo: T.XUAN

In the long term, Mr. Minh suggested that the management unit needs to research and propose more effective protection plans for the relic, especially drainage and flood prevention solutions to ensure safety for the relic and surrounding areas.

The thousand-year-old Cham tower once set a world record.

The Phu Dien Cham Tower relic was discovered in 2001 in Phu Dien commune (Phu Vang district, old Thua Thien Hue province, now Phu Vinh commune, Hue city) is one of the ancient Champa relics found under the coastal sand, with great historical, archaeological and cultural value. This unique ancient tower was buried 5 - 7m deep under the ground, only about 1.8 - 3m above sea level and about 100m from the sea edge.

Researchers determined that the age of Phu Dien Cham tower is similar to the style of Cham towers in My Son sanctuary (Duy Xuyen district, former Quang Nam province), around the 8th century and is among the earliest construction relics in Vietnam discovered so far.

Phu Dien Cham Tower has been recognized as a National Architectural and Artistic Relic.

On March 14, 2022, the Vietnam Records Organization (VietKings) set the record "Phu Dien Tower - the first ancient Cham tower sunk deep under a coastal sand dune excavated and preserved in Vietnam".

On May 30, 2022, World Records Union (WorldKings) continued to recognize the record "The world's first excavated and preserved ancient brick Cham tower sunk deep under a coastal sand dune".

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thap-cham-co-nghin-nam-tuoi-tung-lap-ky-luc-the-gioi-bi-ngap-lut-nang-20251107145515671.htm