Climate change is making flooding in Cần Thơ City increasingly complex, directly affecting people’s lives and livelihoods. To help the community strengthen its ability to respond, the project “Enhancing Community Resilience to Climate Change in Can Tho City” has been launched.
One of the project’s key activities is the installation of flood depth gauges in Area 1 and Area 3 of Bình Thủy Ward.
The events in early September clearly demonstrated the importance of these water gauges:
From September 8 to 13, a prolonged flood occurred in the area. In particular, at 7:00 a.m. on September 11, flooding was at its most severe, with recorded water levels reaching 58 cm in Area 3 and 22 cm in Area 1.
At that time, river water levels in both areas exceeded Alarm Level 3, severely affecting daily life and mobility for local residents.
In this situation, the water gauges proved their practical value: residents only needed to observe the gauge to know how high the water had risen. This allowed them to quickly share information with one another, adjust their daily routines, move safely, protect their belongings, and maintain production activities.
The project aims to:
• Provide clear, easy-to-understand information on water levels during flood events.
• Enable residents to collect and share community-based data.
• Strengthen preparedness and reduce flood-related damages.
These gauges are part of the project’s efforts to connect science with real-life practice, allowing residents to actively participate in monitoring and sharing information, rather than relying solely on technical data from specialized agencies, which are often difficult to access.
In the coming period, the project will continue to implement additional activities to support residents in strengthening resilience to climate change. The project team will regularly update information and visuals for everyone to follow and share.
We sincerely hope for the attention, support, and cooperation of local residents, so that together we can build a safe, proactive, and resilient community in the face of flooding.