The water level in the Vu Gia River exceeded the warning 2 level by 18 centimeters Wednesday afternoon, going up to 1.68 meters. Warning 3 is the highest alarm level, said authorities in Hoi An, Quang Nam Province.
The Hoi An Bridge, which crosses the Hoai River, was inundated at both ends.
Residents traveled by boats near the Cau Temple, an iconic tourist destination as waters rose. Several streets in the town, including Bach Dang, Nguyen Thai Hoc and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, were flooded.
A boat trip cost between VND150,000-200,000 ($6.32-8.42), locals said. They are used to this form of travel because flooding is not an uncommon occurrence in the town.
Shops remained closed and there was no electricity. Hoi An residents had been advised to stay put at home since Tuesday evening.
As people started to clean up after the storm they found several makeshift homes destroyed.
Pham Thi Sieng, 66, stood in front of her house with its roof knocked off. She said she had been terrified of this year’s storm even though storms happen several times a year in Hoi An.
Storm Noru damaged more than 3,000 houses in Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri Provinces. It injured 57 people, including 41 in Quang Nam and the rest in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue, according to the Standing Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.
Luat, 65, said that his house gets flooded every year, sometimes up to two meters, and all goods inside are destroyed.
“I live near the sea so I am used to this. Every time my roof is knocked off and my walls are broken, I build them anew. It costs me around VND20 million ($842) to repair after each storm.”
Pham Thi Bich Lien, 31, tried to sort out the remains of her house after the storm. Her living room was flooded and appliances destroyed.
She will have to wait a few days for river water to flow down to clean up her seawater-soaked things, Lien said.
Strong waves lashed Cua Dai Beach Wednesday morning.
The north-central region is forecast to continue receiving rainfall of 100-200 millimeters, and over 250 millimeters in some places from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday night.
People travel by boats in Hoi An as heavy rains from Storm Noru flooded streets, September 28, 2022. Video by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh
