Record rainfall deluges central Vietnam province

Traffic was paralyzed in Binh Son District on Sunday morning as a one-kilometer section of National Highway 1 was inundated.
Of all its districts, Binh Son is the hardest hit with 6,500 houses submerged and water levels measuring 1.5 – 2.5 meters compared to 0.3 – 0.5 meters in other districts.

A family in Binh Son evacuates its pigs.
As the floods rose rapidly, many families could not salvage their belongings or move their livestock to safety.
The Quang Ngai Province Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said between the evening of Oct. 22 and the afternoon of Oct. 24 the amount of rain was measured at 498 – 850 mm. By Monday morning it was confirmed that 11,000 houses were submerged, one person was killed and three others are missing.

Phan Ngoc Khanh Vy, the bride, and Pham Dang Minh Ngoc on their wedding day on Sunday in Quang Ngai Town, the provincial capital. Photo by Le Tuan

Floodwaters outside houses isolated to contain Covid-19 on Quang Trung Street in Quang Ngai Town.
Nham Xuan Sy, director of the Quang Ngai Hydro-Meteorological Station, said 532 mm of rain fell in the center of Quang Ngai Town in 24 hours, higher than the previous record of 525 mm in 2009. Elsewhere in the town, the rainfall was measured at 576 mm, again higher than the 2009 record of 518 mm.

A damaged house on National Highway 1 after floodwaters recede. It had been under 0.5 meters of water during the weekend.

A house in Son Tinh District near the Da Nang – Quang Ngai Expressway was also submerged.

Dung, the owner of the house, and her husband said they are familiar with flooding since it occurs around this time every year.

Bui Van Sang, 24, tends his family’s daisy garden after the waters recede.
He said the floods had drowned all 400 daisy pots, and the plants are badly damaged. The loss could be worth around VND40 million ($1,760), he estimated.

Floods caused landslides at several places in the mountainous district of Tra Bong.

Houses along rivers remain in peril since water levels are expected to keep rising in the next few days.

Troops use sandbags to save residential areas in Binh Tri Commune, which is home to a reservoir.