Hanoi commuters push stalled bikes through knee-deep water to get to work

Many roads in Hanoi remained jammed for 2-3 km as people got stuck during rush hours after rain eased from 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Rain falling from the evening of Sept. 14 into the morning of Sept. 15 flooded several roads in Hanoi and snarled traffic. As of 6 a.m. on Sept. 15, the Hanoi Drainage Company had recorded flooding on Dam Quang Trung, Co Linh and Vinh Hung streets, at underpasses 4, 5, 6 and 9 on Thang Long Boulevard, and on National Highway 6 through Yen Nghia.

At the Nguyen Van Linh-Co Linh intersection in Long Bien Ward, water 20-40 cm deep made driving difficult.

From 4:30 a.m., the area at the foot of Vinh Tuy Bridge, in front of Aeon Mall Long Bien, was knee-deep in water. Vehicles crossing the bridge in both directions, toward the city center and toward Long Bien, backed up for kilometers. At times cars needed nearly an hour to get across. Many stalled, leaving their owners to push them roughly 400 m.

By 9 a.m. the water had dropped about 15 cm and more vehicles could get through.

Flooding on Ngoc Lam street and in front of Aeon Mall Long Bien. Video by Huy Manh

Nguyen Thi Thuy of Long Bien Ward was taking her two primary school children to an exam when her motorbike stalled on the stretch in front of Aeon Mall Long Bien. She had to walk the children to dry ground to wait for their grandfather to pick them up.

Vehicles sit bumper to bumper for hours on Nguyen Van Linh street.

From around 7 a.m., traffic began piling up on Dam Quang Trung Street and at the Co Linh-Dam Quang Trung intersection below Vinh Tuy Bridge, caused by the flooding and by construction at the intersection that had narrowed the roadway. By 9:30 a.m., although the water had receded to just under 10 cm, the jam still stretched the full length of Vinh Tuy Bridge, more than 3 km, mostly in the car lanes.

From around 7 a.m., traffic began piling up on Dam Quang Trung Street and at the Co Linh-Dam Quang Trung intersection below Vinh Tuy Bridge, caused by the flooding and by construction at the intersection that had narrowed the roadway. By 9:30 a.m., although the water had receded to just under 10 cm, the jam still stretched the full length of Vinh Tuy Bridge, more than 3 km, mostly in the car lanes.

From around 7 a.m., traffic began piling up on Dam Quang Trung Street and at the Co Linh-Dam Quang Trung intersection below Vinh Tuy Bridge, caused by the flooding and by construction at the intersection that had narrowed the roadway. By 9:30 a.m., although the water had receded to just under 10 cm, the jam still stretched the full length of Vinh Tuy Bridge, more than 3 km, mostly in the car lanes.

At the exit ramp off Vinh Tuy Bridge, water reached halfway up vehicle wheels, slowing traffic and stalling many vehicles whose riders had to push them out.

Trieu Khuc Street is one of the low-lying spots that routinely floods after rain, with water rising 20-40 cm. Cars speeding through the flooded stretch threw up waves that washed into homes on both sides. Many families had already placed flood barriers at their doors to keep the water out.

Trieu Khuc Street is one of the low-lying spots that routinely floods after rain, with water rising 20-40 cm. Cars speeding through the flooded stretch threw up waves that washed into homes on both sides. Many families had already placed flood barriers at their doors to keep the water out.

Trieu Khuc Street is one of the low-lying spots that routinely floods after rain, with water rising 20-40 cm. Cars speeding through the flooded stretch threw up waves that washed into homes on both sides. Many families had already placed flood barriers at their doors to keep the water out.

On Nguyen Trai Street in Thanh Xuan Ward, the stretch past Thuong Dinh metro station was jammed for about 2 km, from Nga Tu So to the Vu Trong Phung intersection. Traffic on Thai Ha street in Dong Da Ward was similarly backed up for 2 km.

Traffic on Truong Chinh Street near the Nga Tu So intersection was congested and disorderly.

Several stretches of Lang Street were jammed, with localized congestion from Lang metro station to Yen Lang.

Hanoi, along with the rest of northern Vietnam and the north-central region, has been under rain since Sept. 12 because of the remnants of a tropical depression combined with a cold air mass. The weather agency forecasts rain through Sept. 16, mostly 80-150 mm.