Intense downpour floods homes, overwhelms drainage in eastern Ho Chi Minh City

The severe flooding occurred near the Go Dua Overpass along Provincial Road 43, where homes in Alley 789, Tam Binh Ward, were inundated by murky water reaching halfway up walls.

Motorbikes parked inside houses were completely submerged.

Residents scrambled to move belongings to higher ground around the overpass and waded through waist-deep water to salvage usable items.

Locals elaborated that the rain began around 5:00-6:00 am and lasted for hours.

Runoff from Provincial Road 43, Le Thi Hoa Street, and the overpass flowed rapidly into low-lying neighborhoods.

Blocked drains filled with trash and silt further worsened the situation.

Nguyen Ngoc Xuan, 62, a local resident, returned home from work at the nearby Thu Duc wholesale market to find his house flooded.

“The water rose too quickly. I couldn’t save anything. The refrigerator and washing machine are ruined,” he said.

Emergency drainage teams and residents lifted manhole covers and deployed pumps in an attempt to drain floodwaters.

According to Thu Duc’s Infrastructure Development Center, water from National Highway 1 contributed to severe localized flooding due to the area's depressed terrain.

Pumps were activated in several flood-prone areas, including Alley 789 of Provincial Road 43 in Tam Binh Ward and Alley 28 on Tam Binh Street in Hiep Binh Chanh Ward.

Other severely flooded roads included Duong Van Cam, Kha Van Can, Ho Van Tu, Hiep Binh, Le Thi Hoa, Quoc Huong, and To Ngoc Van, where water levels ranged from 25 to 55 centimeters.

The situation was especially tense around Thu Duc Market, where water surged from sewer grates due to high pressure in the underground system.

Officials attributed this to runoff from steep roads like Vo Van Ngan and Kha Van Can.

Though manhole covers were reinforced in recent upgrades, water pressure during the May 10 rainstorm caused several to lift again.

According to the Southern and Central Highlands Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, rainfall exceeded 100mm in multiple places citywide, such as Thu Duc at 103.8mm and Cu Chi District at 217mm.

The center forecast that heavy rainfall could hit southern Vietnam in the coming days, particularly in the late afternoon and evening.

It warned of possible strong winds, lightning, hail, and whirlwinds during thunderstorms.