On July 12, authorities in Ba Ria Ward were dealing with areas where trees had fallen during heavy rain.
A fallen tree crushes a seven-seater car on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street on July 12 (Photo: Provided by residents).
Initial reports said that at about 12 pm the same day, heavy rain and strong winds hit Ba Ria Ward.
A tree about 10 metres tall, planted on the pavement along Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, was uprooted and fell into the road, crushing a passing seven-seater car. Several people were inside the vehicle at the time, but no casualties were reported.
At the same time, another tree on the pavement along Dien Bien Phu Street was also uprooted and fell into the road. It did not hit any people or vehicles, but disrupted traffic.
After receiving reports of the incidents, the Ba Ria Ward Military Command mobilised local militia and self-defence forces to the scene to cut up the fallen trees and clear the area.
A tree falls on Dien Bien Phu Street (Photo: Provided by residents).
At 12.10 pm the same day, the Meteorological and Hydrological Administration, through the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Centre, issued a warning for thunderstorms, whirlwinds, lightning, hail and localised heavy rain in Ho Chi Minh City.
The agency said satellite cloud imagery, weather radar and lightning detection over the previous three hours showed convective cloud systems developing and causing widespread rain, thunderstorms and lightning across the city.