Ho Chi Minh City’s ‘backpacker street’, other downtown streets flooded after heavy midday downpour

Sections of Ly Tu Trong, Nguyen Trung Truc, Le Loi and Bui Vien streets were quickly flooded, affecting travel for local residents and visitors.

On Le Loi Street, many motorcyclists slowed down as they passed through flooded sections, causing traffic to back up at times.

On Bui Vien Street, floodwater rose quickly during the downpour, forcing some international tourists to wade through the water, with some carrying their luggage above the floodwater.

The Southern Regional Hydrometeorological Center said the intertropical convergence zone, combined with cold air spreading southward from the north, was a major factor contributing to increased rainfall across southern localities on Tuesday.

The intertropical convergence zone is a belt of weather near the equator where winds from the two hemispheres converge. Warm, humid air rises strongly in this zone, forming dense thunderclouds and bringing heavy and prolonged rainfall.

Weather disturbances often develop along the zone and can intensify into low-pressure systems, tropical depressions or storms when conditions are favorable.

In Vietnam, the intertropical convergence zone is typically active from May through October, a period that also marks the peak rainy and storm season.