Several District 1 streets including Bui Vien, Cong Quynh and Le Lai were flooded, as were major ones like Le Loi Street.
The water entered stores and shops on Bui Vien Street, Saigon's famous backpackers venue packed with bars and beer shops.
Hoang, 32, pushes his motorbike through the water on Bui Vien, looking for a repair shop.
"I thought only the edge of the city gets flooded. This is the first time I am seeing so much water on a street in District 1," he said.
There were places where the water was so deep that it covered almost the entire wheel of a motorbike.
Chung Van Thao, 54, pours out water from his home.
"Not only did I raise the floor, I also installed steel plates at the door to prevent the water from getting in. But this afternoon's rain was too much," he said.
Hoang Van Hoc, 24, who sells porridge in front of the HCMC University of Culture in Thao Dien Ward, home to a large expat community, watched helplessly as vehicles caused waves of water to rock his stall.
"It always gets flooded here when it rains. I'm not going to have any customer today," he said.
People had no choice but to wade through thigh-deep dirty water and push trash and debris to the side so the water could be drained faster.
Since it rained during rush hour, traffic was paralyzed in many areas. Many HCMC streets experienced rainfall of 50 mm at around 4 p.m. Thursday, according to the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center. Heavy rain combined with rising tides flooded many streets.
The municipal Department of Transport has said the city has 48 streets/roads that are flood-prone during rain and rising tides. The flooding gets severe when it rains heavily in a short time and inefficient sewer systems worsen the problem.
