Abnormal rains to persist in Ho Chi Minh City: meteorologist Heavy rains are forecast to continue to wet Ho Chi Minh City this afternoon, after locals were surprised by an unseasonal downpour Wednesday afternoon.   Two women walk under the rain on January 25, 2017.Tuoi Tre According to Ho Chi Minh City-based meteorologist Le Thi Xuan Lan, the rain that hit multiple areas of the city on Wednesday was caused by equatorial depression combined with disturbances in the east wind. Satellite images show observable thunderclouds over Ho Chi Minh City and other southern provinces such as Dong Nai, Kien Giang, Tay Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Long An, the weather expert added. Lan said more rains are to be expected in these areas today, with chances of heavy rains in the late afternoon into the evening. Abnormal rains have taken a toll on flower sellers in the city, who count on the Lunar New Year holiday season for their living. At Gia Dinh Park in Tan Binh District where decorative flowers were being sold at a seasonal market on Wednesday afternoon, many customers rushed for shelter as the unexpected downpour hit without warning. “Who could have thought that it would rain [at this time of the year], so I didn’t bring a raincoat,” said Hong Oanh, a resident in Go Vap District. The heavy rain in Ho Chi Minh City on January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre The heavy rain in Ho Chi Minh City on January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Flower sellers wrap plastic bags around their trees to protect them from the rain in Ho Chi Minh City on January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Flower sellers wrap plastic bags around their trees to protect them from the rain in Ho Chi Minh City on January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Flower sellers wrap plastic bags around their trees to protect them from the rain in Ho Chi Minh City on January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Flower sellers wrap plastic bags around their trees to protect them from the rain in Ho Chi Minh City on January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Nguyen Minh Tung and his wife and son, who were on their way back to their hometown in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long on a motorbike when the rain hit, were taking shelter at a gas station in Tien Giang Province. “All our luggage is wet,” Tung said. “If our son catches a cold now, it would be the end of Tet for us.” Along the National Route 1 in Tien Giang Province, many commuters on motorbikes could be seen stopping at roadside eateries and gas stations for shelter as the heavy rain made it impossible to continue their homeward journey. “I have never seen a weather like this before,” Dinh Van Thin, 84, a local in Tien Giang Province said of the abnormal rain, adding that normally the rainy season would have stopped a few months prior to Tet. Tet, or Lunar New Year, is a traditional national holiday in Vietnam which celebrates the coming of a new year in the lunar calendar, which falls on January 28 this year. Commuters on the National Route 1, January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre A decorative apricot tree is knocked over by heavy winds on the National Route 1, January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre A woman walks under the rain on January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre Commuters on the National Route 1, January 25, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre TUOI TRE NEWS