VietNamNet Bridge - Five days after typhoon Dianmu went through Hanoi, many houses in Tu Lien Ward in Tay Ho District are still flooded.

Residents and authorities of Tu Lien Ward in the city’s Tay Ho District are struggling to deal with the aftermath of Typhoon Dianmu.

A week has passed since Typhoon Dianmu made landfall in the northern provinces, including Hanoi, the residential area No 5 of Tu Lien Ward remained flooded as of Friday morning.

Most of the narrow passageways in the residential area are under 50cm of water.

Deputy Chairman of Tu Lien Ward People’s Committee Le Van Thuy said the cause of the flooding was prolonged heavy rains and a clogged underground sewer system.

This sewer system is 150m long, 2m wide and 2m deep, located under the substructure of Tu Lien Kindergarten and the People’s Committee  office.

Meanwhile, alley 124 of Au Co Road was under construction and the water drainage system there has not been completed, affecting the drainage system of the whole ward.

Thủy said to tackle the problem of flooded passageways, builders in alley 124 were co-ordinating with local authorities and the drainage company to dig temporary sewers. The company has been asked to prepare a sewer dredging plan in the near future.

Nguyen Thi Hanh, the owner of a house submerged in water till its first floor, told VN News that many families have been forced to block the doors of their houses with sacks of sand, and to shift the elderly and children to safer areas.

Hanh said Tu Lien residents were suffering from floods after heavy rains for the fifth time this year, but local authorities had not yet tackled the problem thoroughly.

 Stagnant water, sewage and garbage have been causing a stink as the temperature rises.

Nguyen Van Vinh, a local man said residents have been travelling through flooded alleys for seven days.

 “I have to ride my motorbike through a flooded alley to take children to school. The foam on the water indicates high levels of water pollution,” Vinh, 40, told VN News.

 “We parents are worried about the health and safety of our children because they are currently surrounded by dirty water.”

To deal with the situation, families have been forced to shift all equipment inside their houses to a higher level to avoid damage by water.

 Some are getting clean water from a pipeline located far from their homes for daily use because dirty water has flooded their potable water tanks.

Local people say their houses are 40-60cm under water. They cannot use electricity or water.  People whose houses have a basement have to walk on wooden chairs to enter their houses.  Children wade in black water to go to school. A school uses boats to pick up students. Rainwater is withdrawing very slowly, so the flood will last for a few days more. This is the fourth flooding this year in this area.  Flooding has largely affected the life of local residents and also caused pollution.

VietNamNet/VNS/VNE