Saigon residents caught wading through record tide

Rising tides submerged many streets in Districts 7, Nha Be and Binh Chanh to the south of the city under half a meter of water from 4 a.m.

A man had to ask a bystander for help after his motorbike broke down on Le Van Luong Street in District 7 while he was taking his children to school. “We’re going to be late,” he said.

This three-year-old girl in Nha Be District also had a rough journey to school.

This secondary school girl tries to cross the street with the strong water rocking her bicycle.

Two primary school boys pedal through deep floods.

A woman takes her child to school after leaving her motorbike at a repair shop. She said it’s not a strange experience as high tides flood local streets several times every month. “We adults have been accustomed to this. But children should not have to deal with this dangerous hardship.”

This family paid a rickshaw driver VND50,000 ($2.20) to carry them through three kilometers (1.9 miles) of a flooded road.

Long, a migrant worker from Ben Tre Province to the southwest of Saigon, said many people are falling over on the flooded streets. “You just can't help them all!” he said.

A family on Le Van Luong Street used a glass door to keep the water out.

The water was still high at 7 a.m. Tides are forecast to reach 1.64 meters at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning and 1.63 meters in the evening.