Residents of the HUD Van Canh urban area in Son Dong Commune, Hanoi, have been struggling with floodwaters that continue to inundate the upscale residential estate after days of heavy rain.
Although rainfall had stopped for a day by the morning of September 18, many roads within the development remained submerged under more than one metre of water.
Floating rubbish covered large sections of the flooded streets, while foul odours rose from stagnant water. Residents standing inside spacious villas and houses could only look out over what had become a vast expanse of floodwater.
Nguyen Van Luan, a local resident, said the flooding had persisted for nearly four days.
"In the first days, water entered our home, affecting sanitation and making daily life extremely difficult. Travelling, cooking, shopping and taking children to school all became major challenges," he said.
Luan's family has adapted by switching from electric appliances to gas cooking and moving most daily activities to upper floors.
According to residents, the area lies in a low-lying basin where water from surrounding districts accumulates. After major rain events in Hanoi, floodwaters often take five to six days to fully recede.
Many households have spent significant sums on vehicle recovery services after cars and motorbikes became stranded in deep water.
Residents have also resorted to using makeshift rafts constructed from wooden boards, foam boxes and even mattresses to move around the neighbourhood.
At midday on September 18, floodwater had only just receded from the ground floor of a 100-square-metre townhouse owned by a resident named Ung in the LK23 residential block. A day earlier, she had hired a crane to move her car to higher ground about 200 metres away.
"The houses are large and beautiful, but flooding here is extremely difficult to live with. Yesterday, water even backed up through the bathroom drainage system and overflowed onto the floor. Rubbish and dirty water were everywhere," Ung said.
As of midday, electricity had not yet been restored to some residential blocks, leaving families unable to cook meals and relying instead on instant noodles and packaged food.
Quy, who manages a parking facility within the estate, said he had not had a full night's sleep in three days as he and his staff remained on duty to safeguard residents' vehicles.
Residents are now calling for improvements to the area's drainage infrastructure to reduce flooding and allow life to return to normal more quickly after heavy rain.
According to a local property consultant, asking prices for houses and villas in Van Canh and surrounding areas currently range from VND 130 million to VND 200 million (USD 4,980-USD 7,660) per square metre, equivalent to around VND 15-25 billion (USD 575,000-USD 958,000) per property, with some luxury homes listed for more than VND 30-40 billion (USD 1.15-USD 1.53 million).