Developer denies blame as Ho Chi Minh City condo hit by basement flood
Developer denies blame as Ho Chi Minh City condo hit by basement flood
The basement parking lot of an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City was flooded with rainwater following a heavy downpour last week, but neither of developer nor contractor of the building has accepted responsibility for the dozens of vehicles damaged in the incident.
Flat owners at the Green Hills apartment in Binh Tan District had to spend a great deal of money on repairs for their motorbikes and cars, and are desperately requesting compensation for the unexpected expenses from the building developer.
“The basement was so heavily flooded that rainwater level could reach the rear mirrors of my car,” Nguyen Hong Phong, one of the Green Hills residents, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday.
The damage costs him nearly VND30 million (US$1,339).
A lashing rain hit Ho Chi Minh City on September 15, turning many streets into ‘rivers’ and “no one then informed people in the apartment of the flooded basement,” Nguyen The Phuong, who lives on the 15th floor, lamented.
Flat owners only learned of the news when the water level already rose too high, and an electricity box there also got wet.
“We did not risk our lives going to the basement to save our vehicles,” Phong said.
“When the power was cut off, it was too late as all of the vehicles were wet.”
Phong also revealed that rainwater also flooded the balconies of people living in the first to tenth floors, and flew into their houses.
“It costs people at least VND1 million [$45] for repairs,” Phuong said.
“My bill is VND3 million [$134] but I know that the cost for someone is as high as VND500 million [$22,320].”
For some Green Hills residents, the September 15 incident was just the last straw.
“While there is no such flooding situation in other apartments where my friends live, we have repeatedly suffered hit here [at Green Hills],” a flat owner said.
But the apartment owners were mostly upset by the way the building developer and contractor reacted after the situation.
A flat owner on the 15th floor said the developer just beat around the bush when it comes to who will be held responsible, and eventually blamed weather for the incident.
“But all of residents here know that it is because the entrance to the basement is too low compared to the ground that it allows water to flow in,” he said.
“So it is the design and construction works to blame.”
Green Hills residents held a meeting on Sunday last week to call for compensation, but the representative of the building developer just kept silent and failed to suggest any solutions.
“The building management board said they will fix the entrance to the basement, but as of Wednesday nothing had been done,” Phong said.
