At the regular press conference for the third quarter of 2024 chaired by Permanent Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Duong Tan Hien on October 15, representatives of press agencies raised the issue of many central streets in Can Tho City being heavily flooded after heavy rain on the afternoon of October 14.
Regarding the above issue, Mr. Bui Thai Thuong - Director of ODA Project Management Board (ODA Board) Can Tho City - said that on the afternoon of October 14, the heavy rain lasted for 2 hours from 4-6 pm. The water level measured on the river was 0.9m, at this time all the tide-prevention sluice gates were open (according to the scenario, the sluice gates would be closed when the water level was 1.5m or higher).
“Yesterday afternoon, the ODA Board and I went to inspect and did not return until 8pm. The inspection showed that the culverts to improve 32 roads under the ODA Board all drained water well. There are 2 pumping stations on these culverts (including Ninh Kieu and Chau Van Liem pumping stations) to help push the water out and avoid flooding the road surface,” said Mr. Thuong.
However, the ODA Board found that currently, the old drainage system in the city center has not been renovated for a long time, so drainage is very slow.
In addition, the trash screen is currently located under the sidewalk, many traders are afraid of the smell so they cut a piece of artificial cover to cover it. When the rain is heavy like yesterday, by the time they discover it and open it, the water cannot drain fast enough.
Therefore, Mr. Thuong recommended that the city pay attention to continuing to invest in Ninh Kieu district, renovating the new and old systems to be synchronized, and being able to connect them together to form a unified entity; at the same time, reminding traders to carefully consider the above issue so that the water collection pit is clear, ensuring that it can meet the needs when the rain rate is high.
Mr. Mai Nhu Toan - Director of the Department of Construction of Can Tho City - informed that the city has a drainage system plan, the rainfall to calculate for the city in the drainage system is 90mm. However, the rainfall on the afternoon of October 14 was measured at 103mm, some information is 113mm.
“For extreme and sudden heavy rains like this, it can be affirmed that our drainage system cannot keep up,” said Mr. Toan.
Mr. Toan stated that regarding drainage, after yesterday's heavy rain, the central area has just renovated 32 roads and has a pumping station. When the pumping station is in operation, it only takes about 15-30 minutes for the water to drain.
“However, some other flooded areas took 1-2 hours to drain. This shows that drainage capacity is a problem and we need to improve it in the near future,” Mr. Toan emphasized.
According to Mr. Toan, the city's construction industry will make recommendations to the Central Government, especially the Ministry of Construction, on issues related to drainage standards. Because when calculating the drainage system, it will be based on the standards to calculate how much rain and what probability, however, with the current extreme situation, the level of risk when calculating this system must have a wider margin to ensure the urban areas.
