Ho Chi Minh City Streets Become Waterfalls Amid Heavy Rains, Disrupting Daily Life

Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam is grappling with severe flooding following days of relentless rain. The steep Ly Te Xuyen Street, where it meets Linh Dong Street in the city's east, has transformed into a gushing waterfall, making passage difficult. Many residents are forced to push their motorbikes on foot through currents that reach halfway up their wheels. Van Sinh, 70, a local resident, stated that the area has been prone to flooding for over 20 years, with water taking several hours to recede even after the rain stops. Elsewhere in the city, Street No. 2 at its intersection with Hanoi Highway is deeply flooded, causing many vehicles to stall and leading to traffic congestion. Pham Van Dong Boulevard is also experiencing backups for nearly 3 km in both directions. Vehicles on the overpass from Dong Van Cong Street are backed up waiting to pass through the An Phu intersection toward Vo Nguyen Giap Street. Container trucks, cars, and motorbikes are gridlocked around the intersection. Unlike during previous downpours, the underpass there did not flood this time, allowing cars to crawl through. Heavy rain during rush hour caused prolonged traffic congestion on several central streets, with vehicles stretching for over a kilometer from Ton Duc Thang to the Le Duan–Dinh Tien Hoang intersection. Cars moved slowly through the area. Further south, approximately 10 km from the city center, a nearly 1.5-km stretch of Le Van Luong Street is submerged under more than half a meter of water. Most vehicles stalled while passing through, forcing riders to push them. Some residents moved their vehicles onto the sidewalk to shelter from the flooding and wait for the water to recede. Waves splashed onto the roadside whenever large vehicles passed, prompting households to use cardboard sheets to keep water from entering their homes. The heavy rainfall underscores the vulnerabilities in Ho Chi Minh City's urban infrastructure. Amid rapid urbanization and population growth, insufficient drainage capacity and long-standing issues with flood mitigation measures are significantly impacting residents' daily lives.