Torrential rains Thursday afternoon submerged many streets in flood-prone Thao Dien, home to the largest expat community in Saigon. 

Motorbikes, cars and taxis wade through a flooded street. A downpour lasting more than one hour inundated several streets in Thao Dien area in District 2, home to the largest expat community in the city.

Thao Dien resident Thai Van Thanh holds a takeaway beverage package in his mouth while driving through a flooded street.

Thanh said that residents have been struggling with floods during the rainy season for years, but no measures have been taken to deal with the situation.

A man pushes the motorbike of a laundry delivery firm after its engine broke down.

Le Thi Thom, a woman who works in the Thu Thiem urban area in District 2, wades through a submerged road to return home. "Flooding has become a 'specialty' in Saigon during the monsoon season," she said.

Rapid development that goes against the natural topography of the city and overpopulation are among major reasons that has caused frequent flooding in Vietnam’s biggest city, experts said at a recent meeting.

The Thursday downpour also led to massive gridlock that paralyzed traffic on Rach Ong Bridge linking District 7 with District 8, causing thousands of cars and motorbikes to move at snail's pace.

The traffic gridlock has exacerbated at the foot of the bridge from the intersection of Pham The Hien and Da Nam streets in District 8 to Tran Xuan Soan Street in neighboring District 7 due to the erection of road fences for a drainage project.

After picking up two young children to drive them home, Huynh Thanh Dong (pictured) in District 7 was stuck for 20 minutes without escaping the bottleneck. The situation didn’t improve until around 8 p.m.