Heavy rain from the morning of 19/9 caused many central streets in Vinh City to flood 30-40 cm deep, with some areas reaching nearly half a meter. Several streets in Truong Vinh and Thanh Vinh wards, such as Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Phong Dinh Cang, and Nguyen Van Cu, were almost entirely submerged up to car wheels. Flooding into lobbies and basements of apartment buildings was widespread.

Around 15h on 19/9, as the rain eased, Hong Hanh, 30, a resident of Dau khi Hung Binh apartment building in Thanh Vinh ward, walked down 11 flights of stairs to the basement. She waded through waist-deep water to move two motorbikes out.

Residents of Dau khi Hung Binh apartment building, Thanh Vinh ward, wade through water to rescue motorbikes after the basement flooded on the morning of 19/9. Photo: Hong Hanh

She recounted that at 10h, the resident chat group alerted everyone that water from the street was overflowing into the basement. Many families rushed down to move their vehicles to the higher ground of the courtyard in front of the lobby. However, the street water rose too quickly, cascading into the basement like a waterfall, forcing people to carry motorbikes up emergency exits to the building's corridors.

"While everyone was saving property in the basement, water began to flood the elevators. Fortunately, many people were inside the elevators but were not in danger," Hanh said.

Immediately after, the elevator system lost power. Her entire family had to evacuate to relatives' homes. She and her husband admitted they were unprepared, as they had never experienced basement flooding before. "I estimate it will cost nearly 10 million dong to repair the vehicles due to the heavy rain," she said.

According to Hong Hanh, Dau khi Hung Binh apartment building has 18 floors with 168 apartments. The basement is small, mainly used for motorbikes, housing over 200 vehicles. Cars are parked on ground level, but all were affected by the flooding.

Water floods an elevator due to heavy rain on the morning of 19/9 at Dau khi Hung Binh apartment building, Thanh Vinh ward. Video: Hong Hanh

A few kilometers away, at Tecco Green View 2 apartment building with 119 units, the entire basement was also flooded after the temporary flood barriers at the entrance collapsed. Seeing the strong currents, many residents did not dare to venture into the basement to rescue their belongings.

Hoang Trung, 27, stated that his family's 5-seater car, parked on the internal street, was submerged but could not be rescued. "Since noon, the water had already risen above the hood. All rescue vehicles were either overwhelmed or unable to access the area because the surrounding roads were too deeply flooded," Trung explained.

According to Nguyen Tien Dat, Head of the Economic, Infrastructure, and Urban Planning Department of Thanh Vinh Ward, there are about 20 apartment complexes in the area. Some buildings experienced localized flooding, but precise figures on the extent of damage are not yet available. "Basements flooded quickly, but residents could not move vehicles to the street because the roads outside were too deeply submerged, past the car wheels," Dat said.

Authorities are coordinating with management boards to assess the damage and implement solutions to provide timely support to residents.

Water floods the basement of an apartment building on Ly Thuong Kiet street after the flood barrier was washed away. Video: Hung Le

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the rainfall from 7h to 12h on 19/9 in the area from Nghe An to Quang Tri was very heavy. Vinh City alone recorded 303 mm of rainfall, equal to one-seventh of the annual average rainfall.

Forecasts indicate that on the afternoon and night of 19/9, the area from Nghe An to Thua Thien Hue will continue to experience heavy rain, commonly 30-60 mm. Specifically, southern Nghe An province and Ha Tinh province will see 50-100 mm of rain, with some areas exceeding 250 mm.

In Ha Tinh, heavy rain on the morning of 19/9 also caused localized flooding of 20-30 cm on many streets in Thanh Sen ward (central Ha Tinh City), including Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Ly Tu Trong, Nguyen Du, and Le Ninh. By noon the same day, the water began to recede.

Nga Thanh