A flood tide which began rising in the evening of October 6 has damaged parts of the Saigon River embankment, submerging roads and flooding houses in HCM City.

Many sections of the Saigon River’s embankment in Thu Duc District and District 12 were broken at 7pm on October 6. Local residents said water flowed very fast, submerging their homes and damaging crops within just15 minutes.

When the flood tide subsided on the morning of October 7, the embankment was patched up, however, local residents still worry about its ability to withstand future floods.

The HCM City Steering Board for Flood and Storm Control said the city had plans to strengthen the embankment several years ago and this task was assigned to local districts. However, local authorities have not implemented this project yet, especially in Thu Duc district.

Meanwhile, the vice chairman of District 12 explained that the two broken sections of embankment in his area are not on the list that was suggested for reinforcement. However District 12 has a further 37 significant sections of embankment which are being strengthened.

The Southern Hydrometeorology Station forecast that the flood tide will maintain a high level for the next two days.

VietNamNet/VNE