Downpours submerge southern Vietnamese localities, some areas under 1.5m of water

A downpour began on 3:00 pm yesterday and lasted for two hours, heavily flooding many streets in District 5, District 6, District 10, Binh Tan District, and Tan Phu District.

On a section of Kinh Duong Vuong Street near the Mien Tay (Western) Bus Station in Binh Tan District, hundreds of drivers tried to get their vehicles through the congested road that was submerged under more than 0.5 meters of water, news website Dan Tri said.

All shops and other establishments on both sides of the street were shut down much sooner than usual.

A heavily flooded area in Ho Chi Minh City on September 9, 2015.
Photo: Tuoi Tre

On the An Duong Vuong Street section near Phu Lam Park in Binh Tan District, floodwater entered houses and rose to the knees of residents, so many people had to leave their home to temporarily stay in higher places, waiting for the rainwater to recede.

The Ho Chi Minh City Water Drainage Company sent staffers to the area to use pumps to drain water but they could not make much improvement.

As the flooding occurred during rush hour, traffic was congested on many routes as many vehicles broke down while running through deeply flooded areas.

A man takes his son through a flooded street on the way home after school on September 9, 2015.
Photo: Tuoi Tre

At the same time, Dong Nai Province’s Bien Hoa City, which borders Ho Chi Minh City, was also flooded by a torrential rain that lasted from 6:00 pm to 11:45 pm yesterday

With a rainfall total of 165mm, the rain was the heaviest in Bien Hoa over the past five years, Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) cited the provincial Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center as saying.

The torrential rain submerged the entire city, with many streets under more than one meter of water, such as Nguyen Ai Quoc Street in Trang Dai Ward, the center said.

A schoolgirl is seen among others who are wading through flooded Tan Hoa Dong Street
in Binh Tan District. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Floodwater also hit numerous houses and damaged many assets.

A section of National Highway 51 in An Hoa Commune was beneath nearly one meter of water for about two hours.

In Long Binh Tan Ward, floodwater submerged hundreds of houses, with the deepest point at 1.5 meters, forcing the evacuation of many people.

The downpour also swept away dozens of hectares of clean crops of 150 families, causing damage totaling VND1.8 billion (US$80,100), according to VOV.