Ho Chi Minh City is taking all possible measures to deal withdeteriorating inundation as a result of climate change and sea levelrise.
The sinking of the ground is another cause of theinundation. The municipal Department of Natural Resources andEnvironment reported that the districts of 2, 6, 7, 8, Binh Tan, BinhThanh, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon subside about 5mm a year due to theover-exploitation of underground water.
At present, around670,000 cubic metres of underground water is used in the city every day,making the water level fall down and then triggering depressions.
Inaddition, the rapid concrete coverage of pavements and roads has alsolimited the absorbency of land, leading to an annual 2-3m decrease ofthe underground water level.
Meanwhile, almost one third of thecity’s natural area is affected by tidal surges which hit their peak of1.68m on the Saigon River last October, Director of the municipalDepartment of Transport Nguyen Thanh Chung said at the recent 16 thsession of the HCM City People’s Council.
More rain has alsoworsened the flooding situation. Although Vietnam ’s southern regionhas already entered the dry season since mid-December, the city is stillexperiencing heavy rains that submerge such streets as Kinh DuongVuong, Hong Bang, Nguyen Trai, and Tran Hung Dao in District 5, Tan Hoain District 6, and streets in District 8.
HCM City hasreportedly completed the first phase of four major ODA-funded projectsto add 164.6km of culverts to its drainage system. The city has alsofinished 38 projects to upgrade and expand 19.98km of drainage systemsand put into operation a culvert system controlling tidal surges on theNhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal.
Chung said in the short-term, the citywill step up the dredging of rivers, canals, and culverts while runningcommunication drives to discourage the public from dumping garbage intowater.
Added to that, the locality plans to gradually reduce theamount of exploited underground water to 100,000 cubic metres a day by2025.
About 30 large-scale reservoirs are expected to be built inthe suburb while downtown areas will be home to small ones. Suchreservoirs will be able to store tens of millions of cubic metres ofwater, thus helping lower the inundation by 30 percent.
Theofficial said that HCM City will carry out 30 climate change responseprojects to cope with a scenario that the sea level rises by 75cm,flooding 204sq.km of the city’s area and directly affecting 154 out ofthe 322 wards and communes. The projects, worth more than 4 trillion VND(over 190.47 million USD), will focus on water resources, energy, andwaste and land management.
Authorities are also facilitatinginvestment in planting coastal forests and building environmentallyfriendly industrial areas so as to minimise climate change impacts onthe local life, he said, adding that the city targets allinundation-prone sites to be dealt with by 2020.-VNA
The sinking of the ground is another cause of theinundation. The municipal Department of Natural Resources andEnvironment reported that the districts of 2, 6, 7, 8, Binh Tan, BinhThanh, Binh Chanh and Hoc Mon subside about 5mm a year due to theover-exploitation of underground water.
At present, around670,000 cubic metres of underground water is used in the city every day,making the water level fall down and then triggering depressions.
Inaddition, the rapid concrete coverage of pavements and roads has alsolimited the absorbency of land, leading to an annual 2-3m decrease ofthe underground water level.
Meanwhile, almost one third of thecity’s natural area is affected by tidal surges which hit their peak of1.68m on the Saigon River last October, Director of the municipalDepartment of Transport Nguyen Thanh Chung said at the recent 16 thsession of the HCM City People’s Council.
More rain has alsoworsened the flooding situation. Although Vietnam ’s southern regionhas already entered the dry season since mid-December, the city is stillexperiencing heavy rains that submerge such streets as Kinh DuongVuong, Hong Bang, Nguyen Trai, and Tran Hung Dao in District 5, Tan Hoain District 6, and streets in District 8.
HCM City hasreportedly completed the first phase of four major ODA-funded projectsto add 164.6km of culverts to its drainage system. The city has alsofinished 38 projects to upgrade and expand 19.98km of drainage systemsand put into operation a culvert system controlling tidal surges on theNhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal.
Chung said in the short-term, the citywill step up the dredging of rivers, canals, and culverts while runningcommunication drives to discourage the public from dumping garbage intowater.
Added to that, the locality plans to gradually reduce theamount of exploited underground water to 100,000 cubic metres a day by2025.
About 30 large-scale reservoirs are expected to be built inthe suburb while downtown areas will be home to small ones. Suchreservoirs will be able to store tens of millions of cubic metres ofwater, thus helping lower the inundation by 30 percent.
Theofficial said that HCM City will carry out 30 climate change responseprojects to cope with a scenario that the sea level rises by 75cm,flooding 204sq.km of the city’s area and directly affecting 154 out ofthe 322 wards and communes. The projects, worth more than 4 trillion VND(over 190.47 million USD), will focus on water resources, energy, andwaste and land management.
Authorities are also facilitatinginvestment in planting coastal forests and building environmentallyfriendly industrial areas so as to minimise climate change impacts onthe local life, he said, adding that the city targets allinundation-prone sites to be dealt with by 2020.-VNA
