The people in Ho Chi Minh City are building extra walls that block the front doors to prevent water from flooding their houses.

The measure was carried out by the locals living on Kinh Duong Vuong Street after the authorities suddenly lifted up the street in preparation for approaching monsoon season.

Dozens of households find themselves in impossible situation in which their ground floor is nearly a metre lower than the street. Some people use stairs to climb up the now much higher street, while others can no longer bring their motorbikes inside.

Local Nguyen Van Liem said business was badly affected as his store is now 1.2 metres lower than the street. However, flooding is what everyone fears most.

People who can afford it decided to lift their houses up while others have to find other ways to deal with the situation that is building a wall to protect their front doors. The wall also causes various inconveniences but it is the only viable option they have right now.

Flooding has been a problem in HCM City for years. An anti-flooding plan for the 2016-2021 period was approved last month to build water quality monitoring systems, embankment and to upgrade the sewers, river locks and the drainage system.

The ground floors now look like basements

The street is nearly a metre higher than the ground floor

An underground store

Locals have to built their own walls against flooding