At 5 a.m. on 26/8, Thu Huong, 34, living in an apartment near Thang Long Boulevard, woke to the sound of relentless rain. Looking out, she saw the street below submerged, devoid of vehicles. Residents' group chats buzzed with suggested routes, but all side streets and alleys were deeply flooded.
Huong works in Trung Hoa - Nhan Chinh, where her 9-year-old son also attends school, about 6 km from their home. After an hour of deliberation, she decided to keep her son home from school. At 7 a.m., Huong ventured out, planning to take the highway. "I accepted a detour of over 3 km," she said.
But nearing the highway entrance, motorcycles and cars stalled in the deep water, creating a long traffic jam. People began turning back, seeking alternate routes or giving up on work altogether.
Huong joined the latter group. Just as she arrived home, her niece, also defeated by the floodwaters on Le Trong Tan Street, walked in. "I give up, Auntie," she said. "It's too deep and jammed, impossible to get through."
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Floodwaters engulf the streets, vehicles on An Khanh overpass come to a standstill. Photo: Thu Huong |
Floodwaters engulf the streets, vehicles on An Khanh overpass come to a standstill. Photo: Thu Huong
In Tu Liem ward, past 6 a.m., Ngoc Nga, 37, was overwhelmed by messages from her three-year-old daughter's preschool group chat. Each message echoed the same plea: "Please excuse my child from school today." Out of 23 students, 22 were absent.
Sending her daughter to school felt wrong, but Nga had no childcare. She managed to arrange for a neighbor, who was off work that day, to watch her daughter. "I work in Hoan Kiem and had important matters to attend to this morning, so I had to go to the office," she explained.
That morning, Bao Quoc, 25, traveled from Cau Giay to Ba Dinh for work, a mere 5 km. Unable to book a ride, he waded his motorcycle through alleyways flooded up to the wheel hubs, navigating the smaller streets around Cau Giay park.
Reaching the main road, Quoc's relief was short-lived. Dao Tan Street resembled a river, the water knee-deep, with dozens of stalled vehicles. His motorcycle also died, forcing him to leave it at a friend's house on Buoi Street and borrow a bicycle.
"When streets turn into rivers, walking or cycling is more reliable," Quoc remarked.
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Traffic on Highway 6 is paralyzed. The deepest floodwaters reach nearly one meter, stranding numerous cars and motorcycles. Some commuters parked their vehicles and opted for the Ha Dong - Cat Linh railway. Photo: Gia Chinh |
Traffic on Highway 6 is paralyzed. The deepest floodwaters reach nearly one meter, stranding numerous cars and motorcycles. Some commuters parked their vehicles and opted for the Ha Dong - Cat Linh railway. Photo: Gia Chinh
At a repair shop on Dao Tan Street, nearly ten vehicles were crammed together. Hong Thanh, the owner, said, "The phone has been ringing nonstop since early morning, everyone calling for rescue because of the flooding." He added that many customers, after repairs, braved the journey again, while others simply gave up and returned home.
Due to the impact of Typhoon Kajiki, Hanoi experienced rainfall throughout the 25th, intensifying overnight and into the morning of the 26th. Rainfall reached record levels, exceeding 150-200 mm in many areas, with Thuong Tin recording over 160 mm in just eight hours. Nearly 40 locations in the city were flooded, crippling numerous streets. The Drainage Company operated pumping stations at full capacity to lower water levels and alleviate traffic congestion on the morning of 26/8.
"The best advice today is to stay home from work, rather than risk wading through floodwaters and paying for vehicle repairs," said Ngoc Nga, who luckily made it to her office. However, two of her colleagues had to call in sick at the last minute due to stalled vehicles.
Many, unable to miss work, persevered. In Ha Dong, Bich Ngoc, a lecturer at a university in Thanh Xuan, explained that the morning was scheduled for the freshman welcoming ceremony. Reluctantly, she sent her almost three-year-old daughter to preschool amidst the downpour. The distance was just over one kilometer, but upon arrival, the child was soaked, her spare clothes also drenched.
Ngoc borrowed clothes from a friend for her daughter and rushed to the elevated train station to make it to work on time. On the train, she messaged a colleague to borrow a diaper for her daughter.
"It breaks my heart to think of my child having to go to school in this storm," she said.
Quynh Duong
