At 7 a.m., the Thu Bon River at Cau Lau Station registered 3.6 meters, down 2.02 meters from the flood peak recorded at 2 a.m. on Thursday. The crest exceeded the historic 1964 level by roughly 0.12 meters, inundating Hoi An ancient town with one to two meters of water in many places and nearly reaching rooftops in some areas.
As the waters receded, large piles of mud and trash were left behind the Pagoda Bridge, the town's iconic landmark.
A local woman pointed to wooden pillars marked with historical flood levels. “This flood was about 0.2 meters higher than the 2007 peak — the highest in decades,” she said.
Floodwater had risen about one meter on the Pagoda Bridge but has since receded, with staff working quickly to remove mud and prepare the area for visitors.
Trash continued to cling to the windows of old houses throughout the ancient town. Hoi An typically experiences three to four floods each year, but they usually last only two to three days.
This flood, which began on Oct. 26, has persisted longer and has yet to fully recede.
On Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, two restaurants moved damaged furniture and equipment into the street to clean them after the floodwaters receded.
Floodwaters left a thick layer of mud, 20–30 centimeters deep. Without waiting for city crews, residents quickly coordinated with one another to begin the cleanup.
Many historic houses and assembly halls remain in disarray, with gates locked to prevent tourists from entering areas where walls are wet, mud is thick, and hazards remain.
Despite the aftermath, many tourists continued to cycle through the ancient town.
Hoi An Ancient Town typically receives around 2,000–5,000 visitors daily, with numbers rising to nearly 10,000 on weekends.
Police guide residents to move their vehicles and reopen walking areas. Many motorbikes had been temporarily parked on the pedestrian street, which sits on higher ground, to avoid the floodwaters. Although waters in the old town have mostly receded, surrounding neighborhoods remain submerged, forcing residents to use boats to return home.
Water levels in flooded areas of Hue and Da Nang are expected to drop over the next one to two days. However, new flooding remains possible in low-lying and riverside urban areas from Nghe An to Quang Tri, where fresh rainfall is forecast in the coming days.
