Many business establishments in Hoi An were flooded 2-3 meters deep, shop owners stayed up all night moving goods to high ground, salvaging assets in the water.
Thanh Ha Pottery Village, located right at the mouth of the Thu Bon River and 3 km from the old town, is one of the areas most severely affected.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, representative of My Linh ceramic experience facility, said that 400 households in Thanh Ha pottery village were isolated by floodwaters over the past 4 days, electricity and water were lost, and materials from the pottery factory were swept away by floodwaters. Although the water gradually receded on October 30, travel was still very difficult, and many households had to receive supplies from relief groups.
Previously, hearing the flood alarm on October 27, Mr. Hieu and many pottery households in the village proactively raised their furniture up to a meter high, but the water rose so quickly that they could not manage it. “The raw materials for making pottery from clay mixed with water, the goods and furniture were all swept away, there was no time to salvage them,” he said.
Scene of Hoi An submerged in flood seen from above. Source: Hien Fly
On the morning of October 31, the Central Hydrometeorological Station said that floods on the Vu Gia-Thu Bon River, Han River and Tam Ky River are decreasing slowly. The water level at 6 a.m. on October 31 on the Thu Bon River in Hoi An was above alarm three at 0.13 m, down 0.54 m compared to yesterday and 1.26 m compared to the peak on the morning of October 30.
Hoi An ancient town area is located downstream of Thu Bon River, also isolated by flood waters, all tourism business activities have been paralyzed for the past 4-5 days.
Ms. Dang Thi Hang, owner of the business Hang Dung Lantern Making Class & Painting Class, said that the house on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street is a living place and a lantern workshop, specializing in organizing craft workshops for tourists. On October 28, this place was deeply flooded, the water was nearly 3 meters high, submerging the entire first floor of the house.
On the morning of October 27, the family and staff closed the shop and moved furniture up high when they heard the flood alarm on the river exceeded alarm three. That same evening, all the employees left, the rain continued, the floodwaters suddenly rose, Ms. Hang and her husband spent all night rushing to bring the goods to the second floor. On October 28, she and her husband “fell into panic” when they heard the news of flooding, the water level was getting higher and higher, the whole old town lost power, and water was cut off alternately.
“That day, the water flooded almost to the ceiling of the first floor. We quickly made homemade rafts to salvage things and used temporary generators to keep in touch,” Ms. Hang said, saying that on October 28, hundreds of business households renting space on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street evacuated, many people sadly left their shops and furniture submerged in the water.
Shops selling souvenirs, shoes or clothes were determined to be completely lost because they did not evacuate, and many one-story houses did not have enough room to raise them higher. In 9 years of living in the old town, Ms. Hang has never witnessed such a “terrible” flood.
“Fortunately, I was able to stock up on food and drinks in time. I was able to salvage some goods,” she said, adding that items such as cameras, motorbikes, refrigerators, and electrical outlets were all damaged.
About a kilometer away from Nguyen Thai Hoc street, many shops on Dao Duy Tu street also experienced the same situation of being submerged by the flood. Ms. Tran Thao, owner of Cam cafe, said she left the flooded area on October 29. Before leaving, she placed her belongings high according to the initial forecast, but the water rose faster than forecast.
“When we evacuated, the water was up to our necks and all the furniture was submerged,” she said, adding that many of the mixing machines were bulky and difficult to carry, so they just raised them up rather than moving them all away. On the afternoon of October 31, when the water subsided, she went on a boat to pick up some equipment to repair with the hope that “whatever can be saved will be saved, otherwise I will have to start over from scratch to still operate the shop”.
When she opened the shop in 2020, Ms. Thao experienced the flood season, the water level touched the bar door, she could not imagine that this year the water would rise close to the ceiling.
She estimates that there are about 20 pieces of equipment lying submerged in water, from roasters, coffee makers, coffee grinders, to refrigerators and blenders. She anxiously waited hour after hour for the water to recede so she could clean up. In nearly 7 years of operation, this is not the first time Thao has encountered the situation of “almost losing everything”, so she has mentally prepared. The shop opened in December 2019, three months later it closed due to Covid-19. October 2020 experienced a major flood and now faces a historic flood.
“The shop has existed for nearly seven years thanks to every little bit of effort, so now we have to face natural disasters and losses, so we can slowly rebuild,” she said.
Many shops and other businesses in Hoi An interrupted operations, and the damage has not yet been measured. Anantara Hoi An Resort representative said the resort evacuated all tourists from October 28 and temporarily closed operations until the weather stabilized.
Chef Didier Corlou, who runs Madame Hien Hoi An, said the restaurant was temporarily closed for the past 4 days due to water flooding more than 2 meters deep. Damage cannot be estimated until the water recedes.
The scene of Hoi An submerged in water seen from the second floor of Madame Hien Hoi An restaurant on October 29.
“Now we just have to wait for the flood to recede and work together to overcome it,” the chef said.
Every October, Hoi An is in the peak season for international visitors. Ms. Dang Hang said that visitors usually enjoy experiencing the rainy season, but this year many people are scared because the water is too high. On October 27, many customers booked to experience the lantern making class but Ms. Hang was forced to cancel. On October 31, the workshop also “missed” more than 20 group guests from Europe.
Ms. Hang estimates that it will take 4-5 days before the lantern facility can operate again, because the shop must be cleaned and repaired. If the forecast is correct and the water gradually recedes in the next two days, Ms. Hang will welcome guests again.
“The damage is huge in terms of visitors and facilities. I hope it can be cleaned up in two days,” she said.
The section of Tran Phu street, with many shops and tourist businesses, was deeply flooded on October 28. Image: Hoi An people
At Thanh Ha pottery village, tourist reception activities were completely paralyzed, and the damage so far cannot be estimated.
“On average every day, my facility welcomes about 50 visitors to experience pottery making. In recent days, many foreign visitors have contacted us but were interrupted due to power outages,” Mr. Hieu said.
At 8:00 p.m. on October 30, the water at the “flood navel” in Hoi An gradually receded but was still nearly 2 meters above the road surface. In the middle of the vast sea of water, shops and restaurants in the old town are still closed. People wait for each item to emerge amid the turbid mud to clean up, starting over after the biggest flood in 61 years.