A heavy downpour battered Ho Chi Minh City on Monday afternoon and lingered until the evening, causing serious flooding and slowing traffic across the metropolis.

The southwest monsoon strengthened due to the influence of a low-pressure system in the East Vietnam Sea, resulting in an hours-long downpour on Monday, according to Le Dinh Quyet, an official of the southern hydro-meteorological station.

Around 7:30 pm, the rainfall was recorded at 102 millimeters in District 1, 80.4 millimeters in Thu Duc, and 50 millimeters in Binh Chanh District.

The torrential rain caused severe flooding along multiple streets and significantly exacerbated traffic jams during the rush hours.

At Chu Y Bridge connecting District 5 and District 8, commuters were stuck in traffic for over an hour due to the heavy downpour.

At the Hang Xanh Intersection in Binh Thanh District, thousands of motorbikes and cars were moving at a snail’s pace.

Rainwater as high as 50 centimeters was recorded on multiple streets, namely Thao Dien, Quoc Huong, and To Ngoc Van in Thu Duc City and Ung Van Khiem in Binh Thanh District.

Countless motorbikes broke down due to the flooding, forcing commuters to push their vehicles along the inundated roads.

Residents living along Ung Van Khiem and Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Streets in Binh Thanh District were also in misery as rainwater poured into their houses.

“The sewers here have very poor drainage capacity, thus my house is always submerged whenever it rains heavily,” said a local resident.

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