Ho Chi Minh City’s inundation flashpoint deep in floodwater after brief rain

After a heavy rain that lasted half an hour on Sunday, residents of Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City saw floodwater rising rapidly due to the incompetent sewer system in the area.

Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District is deep under floodwater, April 4, 2021. Video: Chau Tuan / Tuoi Tre

As witnessed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondents, Alley 602 on Dien Bien Phu Street, which leads to Nguyen Huu Canh Street, was 20 centimeters deep in rainwater around midday on Sunday, causing a nuisance for commuters who passed by.

Many residents of Nguyen Huu Canh Street had to barricade their houses against rising floodwater as their ground floors are lower than street level.

“The heavy rain brought water levels up to the hub of a motorbike’s wheel, so we had to bail out water and open up the manhole cover to drain the flood,” Trong, a resident in the area, reported.

The heavy rain on Sunday also inundated the streets and alleys in the vicinity of Nguyen Huu Canh Street, where many passing motorbikes had their engine shut off in floodwater.

Flooding also caused traffic around the Dien Bien Phu – Nguyen Huu Canh junction to stall.

Earlier, a severe case of road subsidence was documented on Nguyen Huu Canh Street, according to a road maintenance official.

The street must be elevated by as much as 1.2 meters, while several parts of the underlying sewer system also need an overhaul to prevent further deluge.

As several alleys would become lower than the street level after the maintenance, the new sewer system would be spread to cover these areas as well, the official stated.

Maintenance workers are speeding up to wrap up the project by April 30.

According to the Southern Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, the heavy downpour that Ho Chi Minh City saw on Sunday was caused by clusters of convective clouds, which also led to thunderstorms in some areas including the city-within-city Thu Duc and downtown districts.

The convective clouds were developing while moving west, and were expected to bring sustained rain to the northern and western wings of Ho Chi Minh City, the forecasting agency reported.