"Every month, there are two periods, each lasting about 3 days. My family always has to prepare sandbags and build a dike in front of the house to prevent water from flooding in," said Ms. Ho Thi Tuyet Mai (59 years old, District 8) while checking the sandbags to prepare for the high tide that may rise tomorrow (December 2).
According to Ms. Tuyet Mai, the high tides and water flooding into her house have been happening for many years. However, her family has no way to solve the problem, so every time the tide rises, her family has to prepare sandbags to block the water.
"From tonight, before going to bed, we must use sandbags to block the area, to avoid the situation where the water rises early tomorrow morning and we can't react in time while we're sleeping," said Ms. Tuyet Mai.
About 50 meters from Mrs. Mai's house is Mr. Sau's house, which has also prepared planks in front of the door to prevent water from entering during high tide.
"In 2016, when we saw the tidal sluice project being built, all of us here were happy, thinking that in a few years there would be no more flooding, but unexpectedly, it is still the same. Now the tidal sluice project has stopped construction, we don't know how long we will have to live with this flooding situation," Mr. Sau lamented.
After raising the foundation 9 years ago, Ms. Lan's house (District 8) continues to be flooded every time the tide rises.
"After raising the ground, a few years later it flooded again. Now we want to raise it again but we don't have the money, so we have to accept it. Now raising the ground and repairing the house will cost 15-20 million VND," Ms. Lan calculated.
According to the Southern Hydrometeorological Station, on December 1, water levels at most stations in the downstream of the Saigon - Dong Nai river system rose rapidly following the high tide in early November of the lunar calendar. The highest peak tide is likely to occur on December 2-4.
It is forecasted that the water level at Phu An station (Sai Gon river), Nha Be (Dong Dien canal) may reach 1.6m (alarm level 3). The time of occurrence is from 3-5am and from 5-7pm.
The Project to Solve Flooding Due to Tides in Ho Chi Minh City Area, Considering Climate Change Factors - Phase 1, with a total capital of nearly 10,000 billion VND, was started in mid-2016, aiming to control flooding due to high tides and respond to climate change on an area of 570 km², serving about 6.5 million people in the central area and along the Saigon River.
Although 90% of the work has been completed, the project has had to suspend construction three times, the most recent of which lasted from November 15, 2020 to present.
