One dead, three injured due to heavy thunderstorm in Hanoi

At 4:30 p.m. yesterday, a sudden thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain occurred on many streets in Hanoi, causing traffic chaos. Many motorbike riders were knocked down, trees fell in series, houses were uprooted, and more than 10 cars were damaged.

The storm started at around 4:30 pm on most of the streets in Hanoi. About 20 minutes later, heavy rain appeared. Strong winds and increasingly heavy rain made many streets look like they were in a tornado. Trees were tilted, many people ran away in surprise.

The corrugated iron roofs and balconies of many apartment buildings in Thanh Xuan and Hoang Mai districts were blown away by the wind, with many roofs even being blown away several dozen meters. In some places, the wind even knocked down water tanks on the roofs and swept them down to the street.

The security room of the Central Institute for Drug Control had its foundation lifted one meter above the ground. Photo: Quy Doan

At the Quang Trung - Nguyen Du intersection, 4 large trees fell on 3 cars and crushed a motorbike. One of the victims died.

On Pham Hung, Lang Ha, Nguyen Du streets… many large trees were knocked down, crushing cars. Also on many streets, dozens of people riding motorbikes on the road without shelter from the rain were knocked down by the tornado.

According to some residents, in Dai Kim, Dai Tu, Hoang Mai wards, there was hail with small drops the size of a little finger. Electricity was cut off in many areas.

Motorbikes were left strewn on the road due to the storm. Lasting only about an hour, the storm left one person dead, three injured, and hundreds of vehicles and homes damaged.

Nguyen Thi Phuong recounted that on Nguyen Xien Street (Hoang Mai), the whirlwind and dust made it impossible for her to control her motorbike, so she quickly pulled over to the side of the road. However, the strong wind caused the motorbike to fall on her. Although the accident happened in a thunderstorm, she said she was lucky not to be hit by a car coming from behind in the chaos.

"The tornado was so strong, it seemed like everything could be blown away. Seeing the billboard flying in front of me, I quickly stepped on the gas, and after running a short distance, I saw a piece of corrugated iron several meters long collapse onto the road," said Hoang Tuan, a survivor on Giai Phong Street this afternoon. He said that since he was a child, he had never witnessed such a sudden and terrifying tornado.

Colonel Dao Vinh Thang, Head of the Traffic Police Department (Hanoi Police) said that according to preliminary statistics, about 100 large trees were broken and 13 cars were damaged. The thunderstorm injured 3 passersby and killed one person.

People burn incense at the place where a man riding a motorbike was killed by a falling tree at the Quang Trung - Nguyen Du intersection. Photo: Quy Doan

According to information from Hospital 198 (Ministry of Public Security), after the rain, the emergency department received nearly 10 cases of people falling off motorbikes or being hit by poles, signs, or trees.

At the Emergency Department of Hospital E, at least 9 patients were hospitalized due to storms. Of these, 5 had head injuries caused by falling hard objects, while the rest had injuries to their limbs.

The most serious case was when a mother and her three children were visiting Hoa Binh Park when a storm broke out and they took shelter at the ticket office in the amusement park. However, the wind was so strong that it blew the metal roof over and hit the mother and her three children, injuring her hand and causing her to faint.

Another victim was Tuan Anh, born in 1993, who was visiting a friend’s house in Xuan La, Xuan Dinh. Heavy rain caused a newly built wall in the house next door to collapse, breaking two of Tuan Anh’s toes.

Hanoi Drainage One Member Co., Ltd. said that the rainfall measured in Van Ho was 34mm; Cau Giay 16.4mm; Hoan Kiem 27.2mm; National Convention Center underpass 32mm; Dong Anh 15mm...

By 6:15 p.m., the flooded areas had basically drained.

Motorbike crushed by tree on Hai Ba Trung street. Photo: Quy Doan.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, images taken from weather radar and satellites show convective clouds moving from Hoa Binh to the Hanoi area.

These convective clouds will cause showers and thunderstorms first in the southwestern area of ​​Hanoi, including Chuong My, My Duc, Thanh Oai, Ung Hoa districts, then gradually spread to other areas.

According to many residents, this is the strongest thunderstorm in many years in Hanoi.

Video: Dozens of people knocked down by storm

Video: Trees fall all over after thunderstorm

According to VNE