Hundreds of thousands of students stay home in central Vietnam over heavy downpours

Hundreds of thousands of students in several central Vietnam localities stayed home on Friday due to long-lasting rains causing widespread flooding.

The Thua Thien-Hue Department of Education and Training on Friday said rain and flood situations in the province have been complicated, with water levels in rivers and streams rising high. Around 276,000 students from kindergartens to high schools throughout the province have stayed home starting Friday afternoon.

Over the last two days, rains have persisted at the province, mainly at the plains and coastal areas. They caused flooding in low-lying communes of Phong Dien and Quang Dien districts, resulting in traffic congestion and isolation.

Similarly, several schools in Da Nang told parents to come pick up their kids early on Friday due to heavy rains. Certain streets like Le Duan, Hai Phong and Quang Trung were 0.3-0.5 m underwater, rendering travel difficult.

Until Sunday morning, Da Nang would continue to see rain levels between 150-350 mm, according to the Central Vietnam Hydro-Meteorological Station.

At around 1:30 p.m., an erosion at the Hai Van Pass section in Lien Chieu District sent rubbles down the road, congesting traffic and forcing local authorities to block off two ends of the pass.

Nguyen Dang Huy, chairman of Lien Chieu District, said the erosion area was also eroded during the rainy season back in October 2022, as the amount of water coming down from the peaks was too high.

The Deo Ca traffic infrastructure investment company, which manages the Hai Van Pass, said the company was deploying workers to use sand bags to redirect water flow, preventing it from reaching the eroded talus sections. Due to ongoing rains, workers would cover the talus with plastic sheets to prevent rainwater from further wetting it.

The firm has also rerouted traffic on the pass.

In Quang Tri, around 1,600 students in Hai Lang District stayed home from Friday morning to avoid heavy rains.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said heavy rains would persist in central Vietnam in the coming days. Late last month, hundreds of schools in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa and other localities also had to close down due to heavy rains and floods.

By Nguyen Dong & Vo Thanh – VnExpress.net – October 13, 2023