In the worst-flooded streets, including Nguyen Khuyen, Le Trong Tan, Giai Phong, Truong Chinh, Thai Ha, Kim Lien, Nguyen Duc Canh, Pham Hung and Ngoc Khanh, traffic was halted for more than an hour. Vehicles stalled while trying to run through deep water.

"I regret trying to pass this street. The water is so deep," said a man whose motorbike stopped on Thai Thinh Street.

The Ha Noi Water Drainage Company said the capital's drainage system had failed to handle such a huge amount of water in a short period of time (about half an hour) despite efforts to improve the situation earlier this year.

A company officer said they had not expected so many streets to flood.

The city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said water had started to spill over some major lakes in Ha Noi, such as Dong Suong and Van Son in Chuong My District.

Other reservoirs had also become full after four consecutive days of rain caused by tropical Storm Nock-Ten.

The department also reported that water level in some major rivers in the city – Nhue, Tich and Day – was already high.

Deputy chairman of the Ha Noi People's Committee Tran Xuan Viet asked that prior notice be given to low-lying areas if reservoirs were to be discharged.

Meanwhile, prolonged rain and whirlwinds that started on Saturday destroyed some 80 houses in the southern province of Long An and resulted in a serious landslide, damaging four shrimp farms, causing losses of billions of dong in Bac Lieu Province. — VNS