100 trees felled, roofs blown off in Saigon thunderstorms

A representative of the HCMC Greenery Parks company on Wednesday said around 100 trees up to 15 m high on numerous streets of districts 5, 7, 8 and Nha Be were uprooted amid thunderstorms on Tuesday.

An uprooted tree lies across a street in HCMC's District 5 on September 19, 2023. Photo by VnExpress

The felled trees damaged three motorbikes and a car in District 7, as well as several power and telecommunication lines, disrupting communication and traffic.

The Binh Minh golf course in Nha Be District received especially severe damage when 11 metal poles were felled by the winds. Each of the pole costs around VND100 million ($4,115) to be installed.

Several metal poles at a golf course in HCMC were felled by strong winds, September 20, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Dinh Van

There were no casualties, and the owner of the course has contacted authorities to help with cleaning it up, as well as shuting down the course as the damages incurred were too great.

In District 5, the tin roofs of the Do Van Suu apartment building were blown away and hit nine houses on Tran Tuong Cong and Luong Nhu Hoc streets. Police of District 5 had sent personnel to remove the roofs and other debris.

Corrugated roofing sheets that were blown off are stuck in electric wires in HCMC's District 5, September 20, 2023. Photo by Van Nghiem

Le Dinh Quyet, deputy head of the forecast department of the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, said heavy rains on Tuesday were the result of a semitropical high-pressure area entering the land. In HCMC, strong winds wreaked havoc in several districts, the strongest ones seen since the beginning of the season.

The southern metropolis is expected to see more heavy rains and strong winds until September 26, he added.