Persistent rain from the night of September 16 into the morning of September 17 left many roads and residential areas across Hanoi under water, causing significant travel disruptions.
At around 6.30 am, passengers aboard a 45-seat coach travelling along Le The Vinh Street noticed several fish swimming in the floodwater surrounding the vehicle. The driver stopped the bus and managed to catch one of them.
"It was the first time I had ever seen someone catch a fish in the middle of a city street," passenger Ha said. "From the bus, we saw at least three fish swimming along the flooded road. The fish the driver caught weighed around 5-6kg."
In Phu Do ward, resident Tam Doan said floodwater in her alley rose to nearly knee height after hours of heavy rainfall, although conditions were less severe than the prolonged flooding experienced in the area last year.
Rain began intensifying shortly after 1am and continued for several hours. By around 4 am, water had started to overflow into nearby streets and residential lanes.
"At nearly 8 am, I took my child to school, but the campus was flooded so we had to return home," Doan said. "Many houses facing the alley were affected as water entered their properties."
Some households erected temporary barriers at their entrances to keep floodwater out, but residents said water continued to seep through gaps, forcing them to use pumps and buckets to remove it.
A family puts up a barrier to stop water entering their shop (Photo: Tam Doan).
A household puts up a sheet to stop water pouring into the basement (Photo: Tam Doan).
According to Hanoi Sewerage and Drainage Company, rainfall at several monitoring stations exceeded 100mm by 6 am on September 17. Hai Ba Trung recorded approximately 183mm, followed by Phu Do with 167mm, Yen So with 163mm, Cau Giay with 157mm and Tay Mo with around 150mm.
Hanoi traffic police urged residents to monitor weather forecasts closely, avoid heavily flooded routes and exercise caution in areas at risk of strong currents, falling trees or landslides.
