First in a century: Unprecedented summer flood submerges Vietnam's Hue City - almost 3 FEET of rain in 3 days
© Long Nhat. Phong Hoa Ward in Phong Dien Town, Hue City is severely inundated.
In a rare and historic weather event, Hue City in central Vietnam is being submerged by an unseasonal flood triggered by storm Wutip, which brought heavy rains to the central region - something not seen in the summer in over a century.
Floodwaters rose swiftly across several districts including Phu Xuan and Quang Dien, inundating homes and prompting emergency responses on Friday.
The widespread flooding began after three consecutive days of torrential rainfall from the impact of storm Wutip, the first to enter the East Vietnam Sea this year.
According to the Hue Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue, rainfall has reached extreme levels, ranging from 160 to 400mm in many areas, with Phu Loc and A Luoi Districts recording 400-700mm.
On Friday morning, water levels in key rivers surged dramatically, with the iconic Huong River surpassing alert level two of flooding.
The Bo River neared level three, the highest on the scale.
Reservoirs and hydroelectric dams upstream of these rivers, already swollen from the torrential rains, began discharging water to maintain structural safety.
Huong Dien Hydropower Plant released water at a rate of over 1,600 cubic meters per second, Binh Dien at more than 900 cubic meters per second, and Ta Trach Reservoir at over 400 cubic meters per second.
As a result, floodwaters inundated multiple areas in the city.
© Bao Phu. Many parts of Hue City are flooded.
© Nhat Hoang. A pedestrian bridge along the Huong River is flooded.
Water poured over Nguyen Sinh Cung Street, forcing task forces to erect barriers and restrict traffic to prevent accidents.
Nguyen Van Kiem, a 67-year-old resident of Thuan Hoa Ward in Hue City, shared that he had never seen anything like this—flooding in mid-June.
This is the time when families go to the beach, but now people are wading through floodwaters instead, he said.
Nguyen Van Hung, head of the Hue weather station, called the event 'an extraordinarily rare phenomenon.'
He noted it was the first time in recorded history that Hue had experienced such a significant flood at the very start of summer.
"It's almost unbelievable. Just after one prolonged rainstorm, reservoirs were at full capacity," Hung said.
"The rain has been extreme, and weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable and irregular."
Heavy rains are forecast to sweep through Hue on Friday, with diminishing intensity.
First in a century: Unprecedented summer flood submerges Vietnam's Hue City - almost 3 FEET of rain in 3 days
In a rare and historic weather event, Hue City in central Vietnam is being submerged by an unseasonal flood triggered by storm Wutip, which brought heavy rains to the central region - something not seen in the summer in over a century....
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CÔNG LÝ 247 reports:
(Translated by Google)
