Ho Chi Minh City braces for more rain after its wettest day of year

Heavy rain will fall on Ho Chi Minh City through Sept. 13, arriving with the month's peak tides and raising the risk of deep flooding.

The Southern Hydrometeorological Station forecast heavy to very heavy rain across the city and many other southern localities from Sept. 11 to 13, with the heaviest falling from the evening of Sept. 11.

Its 24-hour rainfall forecast map showed more than 130 mm possible in Dau Tieng and Phu Giao, in the former Binh Duong Province that merged into the city in July 2025, and around 100 mm in Cu Chi, Thu Duc and Thu Dau Mot. Daily rainfall above 100 mm is rare in the city's built-up areas.

Tran Van Hung, deputy director of the station, said the rain was being generated by an intertropical convergence zone whose axis runs through south central Vietnam and connects to a low-pressure area over the East Sea, combined with a strongly active southwest monsoon and wind convergence over the south.

The zone could strengthen further and may spawn tropical cyclones over the East Sea, he said, before its axis lifts northward from around Sept. 13, leaving rain widespread but lighter and mostly confined to afternoons and evenings.

The station forecast the highest tides of the early eighth lunar month on Sept. 12 and 13, peaking between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and again between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The Phu An and Nha Be gauges are expected to reach at or just below alert level 2 of 1.5 m, and the Thu Dau Mot gauge on the Saigon River to approach alert level 3 of 1.6 m.

Residents were advised to plan their routes around the evening rush hour and watch for thunderstorms, whirlwinds, lightning and strong gusts.

Quoc Huong Street in the former Thu Duc City is submerged during heavy rain on the afternoon of Sept. 10, 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

Rain fell from around 5 p.m. into the evening of Sept. 10 across much of the city.

Between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., the station recorded more than 100 mm at several gauges, including 127.2 mm in Cu Chi, 126.4 mm in Cat Lai, 113 mm in Thu Duc and about 104 mm in Hoc Mon. It called the downpour the city's heaviest rainfall so far this year.

The rain hit at rush hour, flooding more than 10 streets and areas, mostly in the east, the north and the inner city. Water rose 30 to 50 cm in places, stalling large numbers of vehicles and causing long traffic jams.

Flooding hit Do Xuan Hop, Quoc Huong, Xuan Thuy, Thao Dien, To Ngoc Van, Chu Van An, Dien Bien Phu and Dinh Bo Linh streets, along with the areas around Thu Duc Market, Hoc Mon Market and the old Mien Dong Bus Station.

In Cu Chi and Hoc Mon, water carrying rubbish and plastic bags flowed into homes. Refrigerators, furniture and bedding were soaked and damaged.

At the An Phu interchange in the former Thu Duc City, the underpass flooded to about half a meter, stalling several cars that had to be towed to garages.

In Hiep Binh Ward, Streets No. 38 and 40 were under roughly half a meter of water from the evening of Sept. 10. By the morning of Sept. 11, water in some alleys and residential areas had still not drained.