Heavy rains from late September to early October flooded many roads in Ho Chi Minh City. On September 30, water covered an 800-metre stretch of Phan Huy Ich Street and reached almost one metre, according to the city transport and technical infrastructure management centre under the Department of Construction.
The Department of Construction said old, narrow pipes and the overloaded Hy Vong Canal cannot handle water from several small drainage basins. After the recent administrative merger, the city has about 159 locations that flood regularly, including 50 classified as severe.
In 2008, the former Ho Chi Minh City had 126 main roads affected by rain flooding and 95 affected by tidal flooding. More than 80% of those roads have since been addressed. The city now has about 7,200 kilometres of drains, 319,000 manholes, nearly 1,700 outlets and more than 500 tidal-control valves. Nearly 1,000 kilometres of canals serve as natural drainage routes.
The network was built in different periods and to different standards. The city is divided into 23 main drainage basins, which do not always follow administrative boundaries. Nguyen Phu Quynh of the Southern Institute of Water Resources Planning said the city shifted from dealing with floods street by street to basin-wide management after 2008. A VND10 trillion tidal-control project started in 2016 but has not yet begun operating.
Urban planning specialist Nguyen Huu Nguyen said earlier designs assumed about 85 millimetres of rain in three hours and a peak tide of 1.32 metres. In recent years, three-hour rainfall has often exceeded 100 millimetres, while tides at Phu An have repeatedly reached 1.75 metres. Phan Huy Ich recorded 79 millimetres of rain in 45 minutes.
The 2026–2030 plan
Under the city government’s plan, Ho Chi Minh City expects to complete 87 projects worth about VND142.341 trillion from 2026 to 2030 and address 50 severe flood spots. The plan does not mean all 159 problem locations will be resolved by 2030.
In 2026–2027, the city plans to complete 54 projects worth more than VND69.348 trillion and address 33 locations. Major works include the VND10 trillion tidal-control project, upgrades to the Tham Luong, Ben Cat, Xuyen Tam and Van Thanh canals, and new drainage systems. From 2028 to 2030, the city plans to complete 33 more projects worth nearly VND73 trillion and address 17 severe spots.
Sources: VnExpress
