Hoi An residents have rolled up their sleeves and taken to the streets, joining sanitation workers in cleaning up floodwater sludge. 

As floodwaters receded from Hoi An in central Vietnam, leaving behind thick layers of slushy mud, local authorities called on residents and sanitation workers Thursday morning to clean up the ancient town.

There was a sense of urgency to the task as the town prepared to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Hoi An being recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A nun with a water hose joins residents in cleaning up outside a pagoda on Nguyen Hoang Street.

Hoi An and many other parts in the central region and the Central Highlands suffered flooding afresh over the past several days due to the combination of a cold spell and monsoon winds that triggered torrential downpours from November 29 to December 1. 

Earlier, the town had been among localities that were hit by floods six times since October 10 as several storms and tropical depressions triggered heavy downpours, coastal erosion and landslides. 

After piling up the mud and debris on one side, residents use shovels to load them into trucks. Compared with the previous floods, the latest flooding came from an upstream area. The amount of mud deposited, therefore, was less, residents said.

Hoi An’s Le Loi Street covered with slush 15 centimeters thick. All tourism activities were suspended again after the latest flooding. 

The ancient town had reopened its pedestrian zone and resumed tourism activities from November 19 after over a month of closure over the previous, persistent flooding. 

Sanitation workers use high-pressure water pumps to clean up Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.

Nguyen Anh Truc of the Hoi An Public Works Joint Stock Company said after the floodwaters started receding, more than 150 workers armed with water pumps and other equipment were mobilized to remove mud from streets and parks.

A worker uses a pump to clean a stone paved path in an alley connecting Nguyen Thai Hoc and Bach Dang streets. These alleys are themselves a tourist attraction.

The floor of Nguyen Van Tri's house on Bach Dang Street is covered with a layer of slush nearly 10 cm thick. Tri said since November 29, his house bad been submerged under almost two feet of water.

"From October until now, my house has been flooded eight times. We are tired of cleaning up continuously like this," he said, adding that this year was the first time Hoi An has suffered so many flooding episodes.

Employees of a restaurant on Nguyen Phuc Chu Street push out the slush.

Sanitation workers use a pump to draw water from the Hoai River to hose out mud and dirt on Bach Dang Street. Since it did not rain Thursday in Hoi An, only a 50 meter section on Bach Dang Street was still submerged under 10-20 cm of muddy water.

A cleaned up section of Nguyen Thai Hoc street.

The entire town is expected to be cleaned up before Friday’s program celebrating the 21st anniversary of Hoi An’s recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.