Hundreds of homes remain flooded in Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa as river levels recede

Heavy rain since Sunday night, November 8, sent water levels on the Yen River rising, triggering widespread flooding in Nong Cong Commune.

By Monday evening, around 1,500 households across 12 of the commune's 19 villages had been affected, with floodwaters inundating homes, roads, and farmland.

Although the rain had stopped and river levels were receding by Tuesday afternoon, 576 households remained flooded, according to local authorities.

Van Thien Village was among the hardest-hit areas, where deep floodwaters continued to disrupt residents' daily lives.

Nguyen Thi Nhan, 46, a local resident, was cleaning her home as the water receded to her doorstep.

She said her family had experienced two floods in just three months but managed to protect their belongings this time by moving them to higher ground.

"We've endured three major floods in two years. In the past, even a week of rain would only flood the fields, not residential areas," she said.

Nhan said widespread flooding had become more frequent since the completion of the North-South Expressway and the Van Thien-Ben En Road.

Another resident, Le Thanh Tuan, shared similar concerns, saying he believed the roads had obstructed natural drainage across farmland, contributing to repeated flooding.

"We hope the authorities will find a solution. People here are suffering from these repeated floods," he said.

According to the Nong Cong Commune People's Committee, the Yen River stood at 3.69 meters at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, down from earlier levels but still 0.89 meters above the second-level flood warning threshold.

Dong Minh Quan, chairman of the commune People's Committee, acknowledged that flooding had become increasingly common during heavy rainfall in recent years.

He attributed the situation to both unusual weather and transport infrastructure projects that have divided farmland and disrupted natural drainage.

"We have no choice but to live with the floods," Quan said.