Heavy rain and hydropower dam discharge have led to flooding in Hoi An ancient town, located downstream of the Thu Bon river (before flowing into Cua Dai sea), since yesterday evening. By noon today, floodwaters had inundated Bach Dang, Nguyen Thai Hoc, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Nguyen Phuc Chu, and Nguyen Hoang streets.

Bach Dang street, near Chua Cau, was submerged by one meter. Residents and tourists could only travel by boat. This street primarily hosts restaurants and cafes. Since the evening of 16/11, business owners had evacuated their belongings to higher ground and closed their shops.

Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street, connecting Chua Cau – a symbol of Hoi An ancient town – with Hoai river square, was flooded 0,5 m deep.

Mr. Hua Van Loc quickly moved souvenirs and beverages to higher ground.

After placing a freezer on an inox table about one meter high, Mr. Loc used iron bars to secure the table. "During the flood on the evening of 28/10, water surged into my house over 1,5 m, knocking over tables with many belongings, so now I have to be more careful," Mr. Loc said.

Staff at a cafe on Ton Nu Ngoc Hoa street (an extension of Bach Dang street) moved tables, chairs, and other items to the second floor to prevent damage.

In the area near the Hoai river, most households also proactively elevated or moved their belongings to safe positions as floodwaters began to spill onto the streets.

This is the third time in the past 20 days that residents along Hoi An's pedestrian street have had to clear their belongings to escape flooding.

Mr. Nam, 69, carefully hung silk clothing nearly 2 m high. "I spent the entire morning clearing things, but there was no end to it. Many households and I had just brought our goods down and reopened for about ten days, and now we are evacuating again," he said.

According to Mr. Nam, everyone in Hoi An ancient town suffered losses during the historic flood at the end of last october. Therefore, this time, they are being more proactive, monitoring the weather through official information channels and watching the water levels in front of their homes to evacuate assets.

The owner of Bi 19 shop at 19 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street used a folding ladder to stack shoes onto shelves. "I moved all assets to the highest floor, over 2 m high. The previous flood didn't reach these shelves, but this time I proactively stacked them even higher," she said.

Shop staff also carried the potted plants from the front lobby to the second floor. During the previous flood, the plants were submerged in mud and damaged.

The second floor of a household, primarily used for dining, has now become a storage area for various belongings to protect them from the flood.

Meanwhile, many business owners carefully packed their belongings into nylon bags and took them to higher, dry areas outside the pedestrian street for temporary storage.

Floodwaters continued to rise, even though the rain had subsided. Residents of the ancient town moved their motorbikes to the area near Chua Cau for temporary parking, as this spot remained drier than other locations.

Throughout the day, international tourists still visited Hoi An ancient town to sightsee. Many even seemed to enjoy the experience of wading through floodwaters.

According to the Central Hydro-Meteorological Station, provinces from Ha Tinh to Khanh Hoa experienced heavy rain due to the influence of a cold air mass and disturbances within the easterly wind belt. In Da Nang, the total rainfall from 1h on 16/11 to 1h on 17/11 ranged from 50-100 mm, with mountainous areas receiving 100-250 mm, and Kham Duc alone recording 274 mm.

The forecast from today until the morning of 19/11 indicates that Da Nang's mountainous areas will continue to receive 150-300 mm of rain, with some places exceeding 400 mm; lowland areas are expected to get 100-200 mm, with some spots over 300 mm.

Nguyen Dong