24 News

Flooding, gridlock stretch from downtown HCMC through expat area

A heavy downpour that began shortly after 5 p.m. and lasted nearly two hours caused severe traffic congestion in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

By 7 p.m., a traffic jam stretching more than 4 kilometers had formed from the Hang Xanh area to Saigon Bridge, a major route linking the city center with Thu Duc via Vo Nguyen Giap Street and Hanoi Highway. Nearby Nguyen Huu Canh Street was also heavily congested.

Long lines of vehicles backed up along Dien Bien Phu and Nguyen Huu Canh streets following the heavy rain, making travel difficult for residents.

According to the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to experience heavy rain in the late afternoon and evening from Oct. 1 to 4. Rainfall is expected to be concentrated in Go Vap, Cu Chi and Hoc Mon, as well as the former District 12 in the city's northeast.

Residents have been advised to remain alert for extreme downpours accompanied by thunderstorms caused by thermal convection.

A long line of traffic was moving slowly along Vo Nguyen Giap Street, near Saigon Bridge. The lane reserved for motorbikes began to flood after nearly an hour of heavy rain.

Flooding on Nguyen Huu Canh Street, not far from Vietnam's tallest skyscraper Landmark 81, made traffic movement difficult.

The densely populated area, which is home to numerous high-rise buildings, frequently experiences congestion during heavy rain at rush hour.

Located nearly 2 kilometers from Nguyen Huu Canh Street, Quoc Huong Street in the former District 2 saw floodwaters rise to nearly a meter during the rain, causing numerous vehicles to stall. Residents had to call for roadside assistance or push their vehicles through the flooded street.

Situated near the Saigon River, the area is home to HCMC's largest expat community and is one of the city's major flood hotspots.

At 6 p.m., more than 10 kilometers from Nguyen Huu Canh, cars and motorbikes were gridlocked across all six lanes of Pham Van Dong Street along a roughly 2-kilometer stretch between the Le Quang Dinh intersection and the Nguyen Thai Son six-way intersection.

Traffic congestion typically begins early in this area.

Pham Van Dong is a major artery connecting Thu Duc with Tan Son Nhat Airport.

A line of vehicles with headlights on stretched along the road leading to Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Tan Son Nhat, Vietnam's busiest airport, handled around 42.5 million passengers in 2025, roughly 10 million more than Hanoi's Noi Bai.

Heavy rain already hit large parts of HCMC on Wednesday evening rush hour, leaving many streets deeply flooded, stalling vehicles and causing prolonged congestion.

The city's Traffic and Technical Infrastructure Management Center said heavy rain combined with high tides overwhelmed drainage systems in several areas. At least 12 streets under the center's management were badly flooded. A section of Phan Huy Ich Street was submerged more than 1 m deep, with water pouring into buses and homes.

An ambulance is trapped among motorbikes, its siren wailing nonstop with no room left to get through.

Flooding, gridlock stretch from downtown HCMC through expat area