An embankment at risk of being breached is being strengthened to save Hanoi's Chuong My District from prolonged flooding. 

Workers have started upgrading a 1.5 kilometers section of the Bui Embankment in Chuong My, a district one hour southwest of downtown Hanoi.

The embankment was almost breached during a massive flooding in July last year and local residents had to use bags of sand to strengthen it. In 2017, it was breached during heavy rain, inundating a commune and isolating thousands of residents for many days.

For the reinforced section, workers have dug one meter deeper from the current surface of the embankment to build the foundation. The project is built using the prestressed concrete method, in which concrete is substantially prestressed during its fabrication in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces.

A reinforced concrete framework of two meters high is set up along the embankment. The surface of the bank has been expanded twice.

A drainage canal two meters wide runs between the walls. Hanoi has allocated VND37.3 billion ($1.6 million) for this project.

Two female workers carry building materials for the project. The breakwater has two parts that run along the river banks, measuring 14.5 km and 18.6 km in length.

Hanoi is looking complete this project ahead of the annual flooding season that usually starts in September, and workers have had to speed up their work. They start early in the morning to avoid the summer heat in the afternoon and work late at night.

In July last year, Chuong My, along with two other suburban districts of Quoc Oai and Thach That, were hit hard by heavy downpours, and most of their areas was left under water. Thousands of houses in the three districts were submerged for five to seven meters for weeks and locals had to move around in boats.

Hanoi chairman Nguyen Duc Chung had said then that the city will look at ways to resettle residents in flood-prone areas in its outskirts to higher land.