Danang firms suspend production to tackle flood damage

Many businesses in Danang city have had to suspend production to deal with the damage caused by unprecedented flooding that followed prolonged torrential downpours starting Friday night.

At the Hoa Khanh Industrial Park in Lien Chieu district Saturday morning, many roads were covered with mud, especially Road No. 4, Road No. 9 and a section of Road No. 2.

Many companies in the industrial park had to hire excavators to shovel mud. In addition, a lot of production materials get wet and could not be used.

Ha Ngoc Thong, director of the Tan Long Packaging Company Ltd., said that although the company had prepared for flooding, the water level rose much higher than expected and drenched paper materials in the workshop.

"Today, we had to pause production to clean up. Material damage has not been calculated, but we are concerned that the wet materials and prolonged rain may affect the progress of orders from customers," Thong said.

Nguyen Xuan Son, director of the Huong Que Import/Export Company Ltd., said the rapid rise in water levels damaged thousands of finished products as well as production materials.

"Currently, we can't produce and we can't clean up because there's no electricity and water. Workers have also asked for time off to clean their houses," he told The Investor.

Meanwhile, at the Hoa Cam Industrial Park in Cam Le district, director Huynh Trinh of the Danang Forestry Product Export JSC, said that while heavy rain flooded the workshop, materials and machinery were not affected, fortunately.

"Today we can't produce. Have to focus on cleaning. Many workers have taken leave because their houses are flooded, too."

Tunnel congestion

At about 6 a.m. Saturday, the Hai Van Tunnel area saw Tunnel No. 2 cleared. Traffic officers regulated traffic through the Tunnel No.2 in batches, directing vehicles to alternate entrances and exits to minimize Tunnel No.1 congestion.

Previously, at 8:30 p.m. Friday, heavy rains that lasted for a long time caused the water level to rise to about half a meter at the roundabout area of the Ta Quang Buu intersection and the linking road south of the Hai Van Tunnel, making it traffic circulation impossible.

Then a flash flood from Hai Van mountain in front of the square and the linking road to Bridges 1 and 2 in the south flooded the square in front of the southern tunnel’s entrance in Lien Chieu district.

Immediately after the flash flood, the Hai Van Tunnel Management and Operation JSC (Hamadeco) closed the tunnel and sent rescue forces to guard the northern tunnel door. They also sent machinery and equipment to remove soil and rocks deposited by the flash flood.