Hanoi is installing street drainage systems in 20 new flood areas which appeared when tropical storm Bebinca dropped 96mm of rain at the weekend.

Nguyen Le, general director of the Hanoi Water Drainage Company, said the latest flood areas were Pham Van Dong, Linh Nam and Nguyen Xien streets, which were new urban areas that had been developed without proper drainage or sewerage.

In Hanoi , storm water and sewage merge to run through the same drains and pipes.

As a result, Le said, canals and drainages would be built and dredged so they would ensure the fast passage of effluent and storm water to pumping stations.

Meanwhile, company workers would be sent out to flood-prone areas during heavy rain to pump water out of the streets, he said.

These measures have already helped locations such as Thai Ha, Thai Thinh, Ngo Thi Nham, Nguyen Cong Tru or Nguyen Luong Bang streets, which used to be inundated but were kept flood-free in the latest storm.

The area's 300 key pumping stations have a total capacity of 4.1 million cu m of water per hour, coupled with another 300 or so district pumping stations, revealed deputy director of the city's Department of Agriculture and Rural Develoment Ha Duc Chung.

This is enough to deal with heavy rain, he said, adding that careful co-ordination of these pumping stations is necessary to make full use of their capacity.

Nevertheless, pipelines and canals to the Day, Nhue, La Khe and Thiep rivers still need improvement.-VNA