On Thursday afternoon nearly one kilometer of National Highway 60 in My Tho, around 70 km southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, was under 20-30 cm of water.
Drivers had to move close to the median strip to ensure their vehicles were not flooded.
My Tho is on the Tien River, a tributary of the Mekong.
Meanwhile, more than 8,000 families in Tien Giang Province face severe water shortage this ongoing dry season.
Around 50 km away in Go Cong Dong District, thousands of people have had to carry containers to public faucets and water tankers to get water for household use for two weeks now.
Last Saturday Tien Giang became the first province in the delta to declare an emergency due to saltwater intrusion up rivers and the resultant freshwater shortage.
Staff of a restaurant in My Tho row a kayak to work on Thursday afternoon since their street was under half a meter of water.
The area around the Trung Luong Intersection is the worst flooded.
Since the Lunar New Year in early February, this is the third time the city has been flooded.
My Tho has a population of 230,000.
Business has dried up for many rice and noodle eateries around the Trung Luong Intersection due to the flooding.
A kilometer away from the intersection, the water is more than half a meter deep in alleys along National Highway 1, making it difficult for people to do business.
Standing knee-deep in water inside his grocery store, Trieu Van Minh says since the area is frequently flooded, he has had to hoist his belongings to higher ground and disconnect electronic devices for safety.
"I have lived here for 40 years, and the tidal surges have never been this bad. There have been nights I could not sleep since the water was so high I had to stay awake to protect the groceries."
Ha Quang, 63, places a glass panel at the entrance of his house to keep out the water and his belongings at a height to keep them dry.
Quang then wades through the floodwaters to join Tran Ngoc Thien, 68, a neighbor, for tea.
"Many places in the Mekong Delta are experiencing drought, but My Tho is flooded, which is unusual," he says.
At around 6 p.m. Thursday To Thi Hong Tuoi, 54, rolls up her trousers to go and discard household rubbish.
She says she has to wade through the water, carrying her grandchild, to the main road so that she can go to school in the morning and repeat that in the afternoon when the child returns.
An elderly woman rests in front of a flooded house.
The Tien Giang Hydro-Meteorological Station has warned there will be six tidal surges in Tien Giang Province between March and August, with the highest water level expected between April 9 and 12.
My Tho's tidal station was under 1.7-1.8 meters of water on Thursday.
