Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City is learning to live with floods but climate change has raised the stakes

Ho Chi Minh City is bracing for flooding that, according to forecasters, is becoming harder to manage as climate change amplifies risk. On Sept. 27, authorities warned high tides could combine with heavy rain, and by the evening of Sept. 30, water from the Saigon River and smaller waterways spilled onto the roads. In low-lying areas, daily life continued—diners ate in knee-deep water and vendors served customers under plastic raincoats. Residents have adapted by raising floors, but nearly half the city’s land sits less than 1 meter above sea level. Drainage built in the French colonial era and sinking from groundwater extraction increase vulnerability.