Residents in Ho Chi Minh City are suffering from power loss and flooding because of over extraction of groundwater.
By Cindy Doan
Cracks have started appearing on the walls and the floors inside Duong Duy Khanh’s house in Ho Chi Minh City over the past two years as the city is sinking.
“At first, we didn’t realise what was happening, we just felt that the house seemed to be uneven,” says Duong, the 19-year-old student who lives with his family on the western edge of the city.
His family became aware of the problem after furniture began shifting out of place and doors could no longer close properly.
“We keep having to adjust the tables and cupboards to keep them balanced, we also have to move cabinets away from affected areas,” he says.
The damage to Duong’s home is caused by ongoing land subsidence affecting parts of Ho Chi Minh City, where sections of the ground have gradually sunk.
“Visible cracks have appeared along all the walls and floors. We have done minor repairs almost every month, sometimes even every two to three weeks during the rainy season. So far, we have spent nearly VND 6 million (US $230) on it,” Duong says, “my parents have to spend about 30 minutes every morning checking for new damage.”
Land subsidence refers to the gradual sinking of the ground, often caused by excessive groundwater extraction. Water is pumped out faster than it can be replenished, causing building foundations to weaken and flood risk to increase.
Large areas of Ho Chi Minh City are built on low-lying, water-rich sediment from the Mekong Delta, making the ground particularly vulnerable to compression over time.
“Loud noises, like doors slamming or nearby construction, make us nervous.,” Duong says, “sometimes we even have to rearrange where we sit because parts of the house don’t feel stable.”
Concern that the damage may worsen and threaten his family’s safety also affects Duong’s study. “During exam periods, I keep thinking if the house will remain structurally safe,”he says, “it’s difficult to plan for the future when you don’t even know if your home is safe.”
Despite the challenges, leaving Ho Chi Minh City is not an easy decision. “My family has lived here for generations. Our careers and relationships…everything is here,” he says.
In January 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued a public warning that large parts of the city could become uninhabitable in the coming decades, especially for low-income families.
With over 9.8 million residents in 2025 according to Metro Area Population, nearly 72 km² out of the city’s 2,095 km² have already shown signs of sinking, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction. In many districts, the ground drops by two to five cm each year, partly because of its weakened drainage system.
The Climate Central in Vietnam warns that large parts of Ho Chi Minh City could fall below flood levels by mid-century.
Another resident in the city, Nguyen Thi Mai Anh says her house is flooded several times a year, especially during the rainy season in September and November.
“It was not like this before,” says the 39-year-old shop owner, “now the water comes in almost every rainy season.”
(Photo courtesy of Nguyen Thi Mai Anh)
Nguyen has raised the floor of her living room and installed a small barrier at the entrance to combat flooding. During heavy rain, she moves electrical appliances and furniture onto higher shelves and stays up late to monitor the water level. Electricity is often cut for safety reasons during floods, especially in older residential areas like hers.
“Power outages sometimes last for hours, leaving us without lights and internet. The repeated flooding has increased our maintenance costs and disrupted my business. My children have to do their homework in the dark, and it’s very hot,” Nguyen says.
“Without electricity, the refrigerator stops working and fresh food spoils quickly in the heat. Cooking also becomes difficult because we can’t use electric stoves or rice cookers, and floodwater often reaches the gas burners on the floor,” she says.
When flooding hits,electronic payment systems stop working. Nguyen says she has almost no customers, even if there were, they could not pay because of that. “If this keeps happening, I don’t know how long we can stay,” she says.
As the city sinks by several centimetres a year and sea levels are projected to rise by 50cm by 2070, flood risk will increase in the coming decades, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction.
Vietnamese authorities have introduced a range of policies to address the problem, including restrictions on groundwater extraction, expanded use of surface water supplies, and building tidal gates, embankments and upgrading drainage.
Though measures are in place, environmental specialist Le Thi Thu Nguyen at the World Bank’s Vietnam office says implementation varies widely across districts, particularly between central areas and rapidly urbanising outskirts.
“Policies are here. But the progress of execution on the ground can be very different. There is still a gap between policy intentions and what residents experience,” Le says.
“Technical solutions are available. What we need is stronger coordination between departments and long-term commitment. Subsidence is not a problem that can be solved in one or two years. It requires sustained investment and clear accountability,” she adds.
Ho Chi Minh urban planners say the city may learn from Tokyo, where subsidence has been slowed after groundwater extraction was tightly controlled and surface water systems were expanded in 2020, according to the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).
“If action is delayed, the social cost will be much higher, especially for low-income communities who are already the most vulnerable,” she says.
Edited by Winnie Li
Sub-edited by Isa He
