About 50 meters away, successive waves 4–6 meters high slammed into the embankment, collapsing a section of concrete that tilted toward the river.
Waves surged over the sidewalk, hurling paving tiles and railings more than 5 meters inland toward the street.
One portion of the sidewalk has sunk about 0.2 meters, its surface stripped of all tiles. Field observations show that the newly built sections with curved concrete wave-deflectors were unaffected, as their design redirects energy back toward the sea.
Hai Chau Ward officials inspected the site on Wednesday morning. Party Secretary Cao Thi Huyen Tran remarked that if the sea-wall and railing project had been completed a month earlier, the damage could have been reduced.
A section of sidewalk about 500 meters from the Thuan Phuoc Bridge has also suffered extensive damage to its granite-tiled foundation.
Da Nang is experiencing heavy rain and rough seas. The Central Hydro-Meteorological Station forecasts 250–500 millimeters of rain in the city between 1 p.m. Oct. 22 and the morning of Oct. 24, with some areas exceeding 700 millimeters. There is a high risk of flash floods, landslides in mountainous regions, and urban inundation. From noon Oct. 24 onward, rainfall will continue, with localized totals above 130 millimeters.
The Da Nang Department of Education and Training has suspended classes citywide for the afternoon of Oct. 22 and the entire day of Oct. 23.
Waves devastate the Han River embankment. Video by Nguyen Dong
