Hanoi Launches Real-Time Flood and Rainfall Map on iHanoi

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has launched the innovative digital platform "iHanoi" to provide citizens with real-time flood and rainfall information, aiming to enhance public safety and disaster response capabilities. This initiative is positioned as part of the broader national strategy under Vietnam's one-party Communist Party system, focused on modernizing urban infrastructure and improving the quality of citizens' lives. The "iHanoi" application integrates the latest meteorological data with a Geographic Information System (GIS), visualizing rainfall amounts, river water levels, and flood risk levels across specific areas of Hanoi on a map. This empowers citizens to monitor conditions around their homes and workplaces in real-time, enabling them to take necessary evacuation or preventive measures. It is particularly expected to contribute to mitigating damage from increasingly frequent localized heavy rains and floods. This push for digitalization reflects the growing importance of urban infrastructure development and management as Vietnam continues its economic growth. Vu Dai Thang, Chairman of the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee, has stated that such technological innovations are crucial for gradually reorganizing the national railway network while ensuring consistency with the city's transport infrastructure and urban development plans, indicating a commitment to efficient urban management through technology. While Vietnam maintains strong economic ties with China, it also faces geopolitical risks in terms of security. In this context, stabilizing domestic infrastructure and citizens' lives is essential for maintaining social cohesion and strengthening the foundation for economic growth. Digital tools like iHanoi, which encourage citizen participation, are considered to play a vital role in facilitating communication between the government and the public, and in strengthening cooperation during disasters. The economic growth and subsequent urbanization have also brought challenges such as increased strain on infrastructure. In large cities like Hanoi, traffic congestion and flood control are urgent issues, and real-time information systems like iHanoi can be an effective means to address these challenges. The Vietnamese government has identified digital transformation as a key pillar of national development, and it is anticipated that such technology-driven citizen services will continue to expand in the future. Copyright, VietnamPlus, Vietnam News Agency (VNA)