It looks like Saigon’s rainy season has officially arrived in town, and it made quite an entrance last night with two hours’ worth of torrential rain that left many thoroughfares paralyzed.
Starting around 5pm, the bout of heavy rain that battered Saigon last night, July 19, was one of the worst the southern metropolis has experienced in the last few months.
Le Dinh Quyet, deputy director of the Southern Hydrometeorological Center, told VietnamNet that the stormy weather was caused by the southwest monsoon that typically affects the entire southern part of Vietnam during this season.
Of course, Saigon’s rainy season is never complete without widespread inundation in flood-prone areas such as Binh Thanh District’s Nguyen Huu Canh Street or Thu Duc District’s Pham Van Dong Street. Coupled with the city’s intense traffic during rush hour, last night’s downpour was hell on earth for commuters whose vehicles were debilitated by waterlogged streets.
Take a look at some of Saigon’s streets during the torrential downpour last night:
Nguyen Huu Canh Street:
Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street:
Thao Dien, District 2
[Top photo via Kenh14]