Foreign tourists sip beer in floodwater as heavy rain swamps Ho Chi Minh City center

More than an hour of heavy rain left Le Loi and Ham Nghi streets and Bui Vien backpacker street in central Ho Chi Minh City under deep water on Wednesday afternoon, snarling traffic as office workers and foreign tourists waded through the flood.

Le Loi Street, leading toward the Saigon Opera House, is under water as traffic backs up.

Quoc An, a local man, said the downtown area floods whenever heavy rain drags on. "These streets carry a lot of traffic, so once they flood, long jams form very easily," he said.

According to the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, total rainfall in Ho Chi Minh City from Wednesday through 1 p.m. on Friday will generally reach 70-100 mm, exceeding 150 mm in some places. Widespread rain is forecast to continue into the evening of Sept. 23, following several heavy downpours since the start of the week.

Water rises nearly halfway up vehicle wheels on Pasteur Street at its intersection with Ton That Thiep Street, and on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, making it difficult for traffic to move.

Tran Van Hung, deputy director of the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, said Ho Chi Minh City is in the middle of a five-day spell of widespread rain. On Monday and Tuesday, many areas recorded more than 100 mm of rainfall, with Nha Be logging the highest at 249 mm. The prolonged rain is driven by the intertropical convergence zone combined with a low-pressure area moving inland from the sea.

Residents and tourists roll up their pants to wade through floodwater on Pasteur Street near Ton That Thiep, and on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street.

On Wednesday morning, heavy rain lasting about 30 minutes hit Binh Thanh, Thu Duc and downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The downpour coincided with rush hour, making it hard for people commuting to work and taking their children to school.

Floodwater submerges vehicle wheels on Bui Vien Street. Nearby, staff at a restaurant on De Tham Street, whose floor sits nearly a meter below the road surface, had to pump the water out once the rain eased.

Floodwater submerges vehicle wheels on Bui Vien Street. Nearby, staff at a restaurant on De Tham Street, whose floor sits nearly a meter below the road surface, had to pump the water out once the rain eased.

Floodwater submerges vehicle wheels on Bui Vien Street. Nearby, staff at a restaurant on De Tham Street, whose floor sits nearly a meter below the road surface, had to pump the water out once the rain eased.

Ham Nghi Street is flooded along a stretch of about 300 m, at intersections and around bus shelters.

In recent days, heavy rain has left many parts of Ho Chi Minh City under deep water, including the foot of Ba Son Bridge, Hanoi Highway, Thu Duc Market, and Nguyen Van Linh and Le Van Luong streets, in places more than half a meter deep, stalling numerous vehicles. On some sloped sections, fast-flowing water knocked over motorbikes. Rain during the evening rush hour also caused two-hour traffic jams on many downtown streets and around the Hang Xanh roundabout.