Storm No. 3 destroys transport infrastructure, needs 3,000 billion VND to restore and repair

Damage of thousands of billions of dong

Storm No. 3 is the strongest storm in 70 years to sweep across mainland Vietnam, affecting 26 northern provinces and cities and Thanh Hoa.

According to statistics of storms in the past 30 years, storm number 3 caused the third most human damage, after Linda (1997) and Frankie (1996).

As of September 21, the Ministry of Planning and Investment estimated that the economic damage caused by this storm was VND61,000 billion - equivalent to 65% of the total investment of the 4th Ring Road passing through Hanoi, Bac Ninh and Hung Yen.

In addition to human losses, storm No. 3 also severely damaged the transport infrastructure system. Landslides and rockfalls buried 4,177 locations, paralyzing many transport routes; more than 700 unsafe ports and wharves were forced to stop operations; hundreds of landslides forced the cancellation of dozens of trains.

The leader of the Vietnam Road Administration said that storm No. 3 caused heavy damage to the northern provinces, including 4,177 damaged and affected road sections, with 3,924 damaged locations due to landslides, roadbed collapse, road breaks and bridge and culvert damage, and 253 flooded road surfaces. Hundreds of broken and collapsed road signs and many other damages need to be repaired and replaced.

Notably, in Phu Tho, two spans of Phong Chau Bridge collapsed. In addition, due to heavy rain, high water levels, and strong currents, four other bridges on several national highways had to be closed.

820 traffic jams, including 567 due to landslides, collapsed roadbeds, damaged bridges and culverts, and 253 due to rising flood waters.

According to the initial calculation of the Roads Department, the estimated damage to be repaired is about 2,000 billion VND. Of which, the cost of ensuring traffic including the cost of clearing subsidence, re-filling the roadbed, building temporary bypasses, temporary bridges and culverts, replacing traffic signs and temporarily restoring traffic on national highways affected by storm No. 3 and post-storm circulation is estimated at over 500 billion VND.

To rebuild national highways damaged by storms, floods, and landslides to ensure technical standards and regulations, it is estimated that 1,500 billion VND will be needed (not including the estimated cost of rebuilding Phong Chau bridge).

Mr. Tran Thien Canh, Director of Vietnam Railway Authority, said that initial statistics show that storm No. 3 has more than 30 landslide locations, with soil covering railways, and more than 40 flooded locations, with roadbeds and rock foundations washed away.

Hundreds of trees fell on railways, railway signal lines, many railway signal machines and equipment were damaged due to flooding. 22 freight trains and 54 passenger trains on the railway lines: Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City (Hanoi - Vinh section), Yen Vien - Lao Cai, Gia Lam - Hai Phong had to be canceled, estimated damage of 28 billion VND.

"The estimated cost of repair is over 130 billion VND," Mr. Tran Thien Canh informed.

Race to open the road

During the storm, many dispatches from the Ministry of Transport were continuously issued, the 24/7 on-call regime with the motto "4 on-site" was mentioned many times in the instructions from the Ministry.

A representative of the Ministry of Transport said that before, during and after the storm, the Ministry continuously directed road management and maintenance units to concentrate vehicles, materials, equipment and human resources to deploy plans to ensure traffic safety and overcome the consequences of floods on national highways in the fastest time.

Especially with routes serving rescue and relief work, roads connecting isolated residential areas, main traffic routes are determined to race against time with the goal of opening the roads as soon as possible.

Road Management Area I, the unit that manages most of the national highways in the northern provinces, suffered the brunt of the storm, including the entire Lang Nu village (Bao Yen, Lao Cai) being swept away by floodwaters. Roads leading to the village were all eroded and blocked. Rescue forces could not reach the scene.

Recalling the most difficult days, a representative of Road Management Area I said that as soon as he received the news, the director of the Area personally went to the scene that night to mobilize all the forces and equipment of the cleaning units.

“The work was carried out at night, it was dark, the power was out, it was still raining, and there was still a risk of landslides. We had to race every hour and every minute but still had to ensure the safety of the brothers performing the task. At 11 p.m., one lane was temporarily opened. At the same time, the rescue and medical forces from Lao Cai had arrived at Pho Rang, and then the rescue forces reached the landslide site that same night,” said a representative of Road Management Area I.

According to information from Road Management Area I, all national highways are now fully open to traffic. However, the repair and restoration of traffic infrastructure works still requires time and money. According to calculations by the Ministry of Transport, an estimated VND 3,000 billion is needed for repair and restoration.

Regarding the work of overcoming the consequences of the storm, the Ministry of Transport proposed that the Government provide additional funding (from the central budget reserve) for the ministry to organize the repair and restoration of transport infrastructure.

The Ministry also requested localities to coordinate and support road management agencies in arranging areas for dumping landslides and rocks, facilitating the work of overcoming landslides; supporting site clearance work in case of major damage requiring the expansion of the road towards the positive slope or the entire route to ensure safety.