Hoi An flooding?

Old Oct 8th, 2013, 12:10 PM
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Hoi An flooding?

Has anyone visited Hoi An during a time of flooding? How did you handle it? We leave Thursday for Vietnam and will be in Hoi An on 10/17-10/20. Anyone ever visited Siem Reap when there was flooding?
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Old Oct 8th, 2013, 05:40 PM
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Patty, mid October is generally not a good time to visit S.E.Asia. Generally speaking it is not a good idea to go to a disaster zone. Of course it depends on how bad the flooding is and how much of the town is flooded. In any case you need a plan B at this point.
I would go to Trip advisor to see if there is a HoiAn expert there. Even if there isn't, you can still ask if anyone knows what is happening there at this point. Do the same with Siem Reap. Go to the forum onTravelfish also. Best of luck.
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Old Oct 8th, 2013, 06:10 PM
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Lots of flooding from Thailand to Cambodia and Vietnam at the moment as many typhoons are making landfalls in S. China with wide spread rain all over the surrounding countries.

I know that as of today the roads from Bangkok to the border town of Cambodia, which connect to Siem Reap, are still flooded. I believe you will most likely be flying in so that not affect you.

There should be at least two Fodorites in Siem Reap right now so perhaps they will chime in with what's happening there.
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Old Oct 8th, 2013, 07:42 PM
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Thanks mohan and Hanuman. It's a little late now to change plans. I was thinking more along the lines of finding a market to buy boots! Would love to hear more locally.
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Old Oct 9th, 2013, 03:27 PM
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we were in hoi an with some minor flooding... it was not that bad
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Old Oct 9th, 2013, 03:28 PM
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we were in hoi an with some minor flooding... it was not that bad
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Old Oct 9th, 2013, 04:48 PM
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Oh thank y ou rhkkmk!!!!! We leave tomorrow and I am hoping the major flooding will have subsided by the time we get there--about a week later.
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Old Oct 9th, 2013, 06:14 PM
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I will be there next monday for 10days staying in danang, will let u know how it is
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Old Oct 9th, 2013, 06:24 PM
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Thanks Evelyne. We'll be there the 17-th through the 20th.
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Old Oct 13th, 2013, 09:05 PM
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Patty, typhoon Nari is expected to hit central Vietnam with storm center 15.9N 108.6E (the island just in front of Hoi An beach) at 01:00 AM local time October 15.
My family-in-law is from Hoi An. I've been living there for shorter periods of my life and was there during typhoon Xangsane back in 2006 so I know how it can be like.
There was flooding in Hoi An (not much though) 2 weeks ago when typhoon Wutip hit almost 300 km north of Hoi An with up to 100mm of rain in the outer rainbands. Typhoon Nari is expected to hit Hoi An directly with extreme rainfall of up to 520mm rain in the inner rainbands so there will most certainly be flooding on October 15 in the afternoon and possible 3-4 days ahead.
That being said it's not impossible to visit Hoi An and most of the (possible) drama will probably be over on October 17 when you arrive. You might even get the chance to sail through some of the streets near the river in the old city center which is an experience in itself. Although the floods are inconvenient for the local citizens of Hoi An they are actually used to these kind of events and they depend heavily on the tourists to come so the best way you can support is actually by coming.
I would, however, review very carefully which hotel you are staying at and call them on October 16 to hear if they have been affected by floods. Hotels near the beach or near the river might be in risk of flooding.
Hoi An Hotel is on high grounds and very safe from flooding. So are the hotels around Hai Ba Trung Street - north of Ly Thoung Kiet Street.
Everything south of Phan Chu Trinh Street as well as some hotels in Ba Trieu Street and everything west of Nhi Trung Street is on low grounds and could be flooded.
I would recommend stocking up on water, bread and snacks before heading to Hoi An. Let us know how it goes - and perhaps where you are staying/stayed.
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Old Oct 13th, 2013, 09:25 PM
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P.S. you might want to check the hydrograph on http://www.nchmf.gov.vn/web/en-US/64...p/Default.aspx
Thu Bon river Cau Lau station is very close to Hoi An. 250-300 cm is a "normal" flooding like the one two weeks ago (up to 255 cm on October 3rd). 450 cm and above is a major flooding. At 525 cm back in September 2009 we had 1 meter of water inside our house in Ba Trieu street, and that's in the normally "dry" end of Ba Trieu street. Hotels in the other end of the street (closer to the city centre) had the whole ground floor completely inundated.
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Old Oct 13th, 2013, 09:37 PM
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I am staying at the Naim Hai, I was assured by the genereal manager that we are safe at the hotel and that they are prepared, right now it is cloudy and raining with high winds, so we will see and keep you updated
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Old Oct 13th, 2013, 09:58 PM
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Nam Hai is a great place - wish I was there. Normally you should have great and calm weather once the storm has passed by.
I believe Nam Hai should be safe too as they built the hotel on top of an artificial hill. More importantly the access roads won't be affected. During very high floods (450 cm and above in Thu Bon river) the access roads to Hoi An gets affected.
Hotels near the beach aren't in risk of flooding by river water (which is dirty and where floods lasts for days) but from storm surge (clean sea water that dissapears within hours). Novotel, Golden Sands, Hoi An Beach Resort and Victoria a bit further south could get some storm surge but I doubt Nam Hai would.
Keep us updated.
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Old Oct 13th, 2013, 10:10 PM
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I will , we were just told by the hotel to stay within the resort and not go out anymore
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Old Oct 13th, 2013, 11:15 PM
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Hehe - Nam Hai is definitely not a bad place to be put in house arrest Make sure you have water, a flash light with fresh batteries and keep your phone charged.
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Old Oct 14th, 2013, 07:45 PM
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Well the worst is over , it was a long night but never missed electricity, lots of trees on the ground, the staff at the Nam Hai is just fantastic and took care of us
I was told Vietnam airline is to resume flying sometime I the afternoon.
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Old Oct 15th, 2013, 04:26 PM
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Good to hear you're safe. It looks like the flooding should reach a maximum in Hoi An this morning. With Thu Bon river currently estimated at 340cm max it looks like it wont be as serious an event as previous floodings in 2010 (410cm) and 2009 (525cm). Our OP should be safe when/if arriving tomorrow. Would recommend giving the hotel a call today to check the state of it. Some hotels near the river are guaranteed to be flooded today.
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Old Oct 16th, 2013, 07:52 PM
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Thank you all so much! We are in Hanoi and our Vietnam Air flight was delayed two hours, so we went back to our room. Should be in Hoi An soon. I do feel more assured- although a little wary- but we did survive (quite nicely) the overnight trains to Sapa and back so we should be good! We are staying at Little Boutique Hoi An for three days.
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Old Oct 17th, 2013, 06:22 AM
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Arrived in Hoi An around 4 PM. Could see debris, mud and evidence of flooding, but no rain tonight. We were able to walk around all evening and just had to avoid a couple of streets for flooding and mud. Hosed our shoes and feet down afterwards. I have hope!
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Old Oct 17th, 2013, 07:19 AM
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Patty, glad you're safely in Hoi An. Look forward to seeing your photos and reading about the trip. Stay dry!
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