Downpour jams city streets

HA NOI — A newly-upgraded drainage system worth US$200 million failed to cope with a three-hour long downpour on Wednesday evening, the heaviest in a decade.
Director of Ha Noi Water Drainage Company Nguyen Le said the volume of rain was up to 144mm an hour, exceeding design capacity of 36mm an hour.
The downpour caused flash flooding and traffic jams throughout Ha Noi as people headed for home.
Many cars and motorbikes broke down when their exhausts or motors became submerged in knee-deep water in many streets, including Nguyen Khuyen, Phung Hung, Ly Thuong Kiet and Le Duan in front of Ha Noi Railway Station. Stranded motorbike drivers had to push their vehicles to major street corners, where street repairers did a thriving business.
One ambulance carrying a patient from Thanh Xuan District to Bach Mai Hospital got stuck in traffic in Chua Boc Street, but no-one moved even though the ambulance driver hooted continuously.
Nguyen Hai Hung, a resident in Thanh Xuan District, said he had heard of the new drainage system, but the downpour had proved its weakness.
Head of Ha Noi Police’s Traffic Police Division 1, Nguyen Van Tong, said he had mobilised every available policeman to help straighten out traffic, but even they found it difficult to move because of the floodwater.
"It’s time for the municipal People’s Committee to seriously consider the viability of water drainage projects," said Tong.
Many Hanoians were curious why a three-hour downpour could cause such a huge traffic jam when so much money had been spent on drainage upgrade.
Le said the project’s first phase had upgraded four main river drainage streams surrounding the city - the To Lich, Lu, Kim Nguu and Set rivers.
He added that the newly built Yen So pumping station had a capacity of 45 cu.m a second.
Apparently the city still lacks infrastructure for water drainage. There are 546 km of sewage drains, but only 24km of this was newly installed in the first phase of the water project.
The still degraded sewage system in Lo Duc and Quan Su streets, built in 1945, contributed to deep flooding in several streets, including Hang Chuoi, Tran Hung Dao and Ly Thuong Kiet.
The director said lack of good management had led to drainage problems in new urban residential areas in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay and Long Bien districts.
He said the drainage system had not been improved to cope with the rapid development.
Many drainage ponds and lakes, a traditional feature of old Ha Noi, had also been filled to build houses and there was no place for water to escape.
Director of Ha Noi Water Drainage Project’s Management Unit Pham Van Cuong said the second phase, with a capital of $300 million, was scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year and finish by 2011.
He said it would be capable of draining 310mm of rain water an hour, almost eight times the present capacity.
According to experts, the $500 million project may not help the city escape from flood. However, Cuong said the project’s consultancy study showed Ha Noi would need a total of $1.1 billion to guarantee water drainage and waste-water treatment problems were solved.
And while a map of black spots that needed fixing had existed for years, work was at a standstill, even though money had been poured in.
Some experts said investment in water drainage would not be successful unless roads were raised. However, this could harm the interests of many families as their floors would be lower than the road surface.

soure: vietnamnews