VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City was seriously flooded by a heavy rain that lasted more than half an hour on the evening of August 18. Experts say that flooding is getting worse in the city.

HCM City was flooded after a half-an-hour downpour on August 15.

Ms. Do Thi Bay, a resident of Kha Van Can Road, Linh Dong Ward, Thu Duc District, says that the authorities have only one way to prevent flooding in some areas: raising the height of roads, which is very costly.

She says before Kha Van Can Road was raised, motorcycles were flooded up to their seats whenever it rained. Now, floods cover up to half of the wheel. However, the houses along the road are submerged under water from 0.5 to 1m deep. If locals raise the floors, the road will be flooded deeply again.

The surface of Kha Van Can Street is higher than the windows of many houses along the road. The situation is the same on Pham Van Dong Road in Binh Thanh District.

Some people in alley 384 on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Road, District 3, complain that after the road was lifted, the alley began being flooded.

According to the HCM City Flood Control Center, many sewers in the city are stuck because of mud and sand from construction projects.

The Centre has asked the city government for approval of 12 flood control projects for this year and 2015, with total capital of nearly VND1,860 billion. The projects will upgrade the drainage system on some routes and build dozens of reservoirs.

According Dr.Vu Van Nghi from the Vietnam Geological Society, the tide level in Southeast Asia has not changed significantly for many years. But HCM City’s flooding has become increasingly severe, indicating that some local areas have sunk due to the pressure of construction building sites.

Using InSAR techniques, Dr. Le Van Trung from the Geoinformatics Center of HCM City National University confirmed that widespread subsidence has occurred in the city. The cause is from the rapid development of construction works, weak geological structure and the condition of excessive groundwater extraction.

Ho Long Phi from the National University of Ho Chi Minh City said that subsidence threatens not only the drainage works and makes flooding worse, but seriously affects construction works.

The flood on August 18:

Tien Phong