An unusual downpour submerged streets in Ca Mau City in the namesake Mekong Delta province on Tuesday afternoon amid a historic dry season that has hit many parts of the region.

It started pouring in Ca Mau City at around 4:00 pm on Tuesday.

Trinh Xuan Hung, director of the Hydro-Meteorological Center of Ca Mau Province, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the same evening that heavy rains occurred in Ca Mau City and Cai Nuoc Town in Cai Nuoc District, while smaller showers were reported in other parts of the province.

Rainfall was measured at 700 millimeters and lasted nearly two hours in Ca Mau City.

According to the observation of Tuoi Tre reporters, inundation occurred along various streets in the city after the rain.

Notably, Phan Ngoc Hien Street, Nguyen Trai Street, Tran Hung Dao Street, and Nguyen Ngoc Sanh Street were calf-deep under rainwater.

The flooding resulted in chaotic traffic at different intersections in the city, as many motorbikes broke down due to the rainwater.

“This is an unseasonal rain in the middle of the dry season. If this rain had occurred in the countryside or the U Minh Ha cajuput forest, it would have been as precious as gold,” Hung said.

According to leaders of U Minh Ha National Park, the park’s entire forest stand, which covers a total area of 8,527.8 hectares, has been hit by severe drought.

More than 423 hectares of the forest is in the highest risk of wildfire.

Five provinces in the Mekong Delta including Kien Giang, Ben Tre, Tien Giang, Ca Mau, and Long An have declared a state of emergency after drought and saline intrusion broke records in the region.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved VND350 billion (US$15 million) in aid for these five provinces to combat drought and salt intrusion.

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