Da Lat and Lam Dong urban areas are located at an altitude of 1,500m above sea level. This land is known as the land of dreams, the land of fog, and the resort paradise.
However, in recent years, each rainy season has affected many inner-city areas severely by flooding and landslides.
Since the end of April (the beginning of the rainy season), flooding has occurred in some residential areas in Xuan Huong - Da Lat, Lam Vien - Da Lat, Cam Ly - Da Lat wards, seriously affecting people's lives.
Mr. Che Do (78 years old, residing in Lam Vien - Da Lat ward) said that it was raining heavily, water from above poured into inner-city streams and rose, causing flooding in production areas and people's houses.
"During the recent thunderstorms, my house was flooded nearly 1.6m deep. At that time, the flood rose quickly, and many items in the house were damaged," said Mr. Do.
In Xuan Huong - Da Lat ward, dozens of households next to the stream collecting water from the Yersin Planning Area to the Pham Hong Thai Planning Area always live in anxiety every time it rains.
According to the people, the stream was solidly built by the authorities to collect wastewater and drain floodwaters. However, the sewer mouth downstream in Pham Hong Thai Planning Area is too small, the water cannot drain in time, causing flooding.
After the flood caused hundreds of millions of VND in damage in 2023, Ms. Do Thi Cay's family had to " build a dike" higher than 2m to prevent flood from the stream behind the house.
"The solution to build surrounding walls is quite effective. However, the family is always afraid that one day the water will rise, crossing the wall," Ms. Cay shared.
Along with "building a dike" to prevent water, Mrs. Cay's family also installed 2 electric pumps, 1 pump with a gasoline engine, ready to pump water when floods flooded into the house.
Mr. Nguyen Phuc Trinh, the owner of a homestay on Nguyen Trai Street, was fed up with items submerged in floodwaters during the rain in mid-September.
"Not only are items damaged, but business is also interrupted at this time," said Mr. Trinh.
Mr. Le Tuan Anh, resident of Xuan Huong - Da Lat ward, designed a shield to prevent floodwater from entering his house.
Mr. Tuan Anh said: "On September 10, there was heavy rain, flood water flooded quickly. Within just 10 minutes, the water rose nearly 1.6m. I closed the door but the water pressure was too strong, causing the 3 glass compartments below to break. Many items and electrical equipment in the house were damaged".
According to the Department of Construction of Lam Dong province, the localized flooding in Da Lat urban area in recent years has been due to many reasons.
This includes the drainage system infrastructure that has not been deployed synchronously. Many drainage works are degraded and do not ensure flood drainage capacity. Some streams and canals were encroached upon by people, and construction works affected the flow.
Not only in the inner city, the flows in the agricultural production area of Lam Vien - Da Lat ward are being "stuck", affecting the flood drainage function during the rainy season.
To prevent floods from flooding into agricultural production areas, the family of Ms. Che Thi Huyen Trang, Lam Vien - Da Lat ward, invested hundreds of millions of VND to build concrete "dyks" around the garden.
Ms. Trang said that her family is always in a state of anxiety, with limited production because they cannot predict the floods that will come in the future.
