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“The streets are flooded, just work from home,” his wife said. But he said there was an important deadline that required him to be at the office.

Heavy rains brought by Typhoon Matmo had caused widespread flooding on Tuesday morning.

The trip to work was more difficult than he had expected. The rain began as soon as he hit the street and he had to stop under the elevated metro tracks for shelter.

Then, as he neared 103 Hospital in Ha Dong Ward, waist-high water and strong waves made it hard to control the bike.

Thanh left his motorbike at a nearby stranger’s house and waded through the flooded streets. He reached his office on Tan Trieu Street at 9 a.m., soaked after nearly three hours on the road.

At dawn on Tuesday Thanh Tung, 28, of Me Tri Ha Ward, was informed that his company staff could work from home since the streets were flooded due to heavy overnight rain. But he put on a raincoat and headed out for the office.

“All the important files are in my office computer,” he explained.

Two hours later he had only completed half the commute, which usually took him 20 minutes.

After being stranded for six hours during a previous flooding, he had packed dry clothes and instant noodles this time in case he had to spend the night at the office.

Nguyen Hoa, 60, and her husband, left home at 4 a.m. to buy chickens from a wholesale market. Flooding and gridlock stretched their trip to more than four hours, several times longer than usual, as they had to make detours.

The rain increased demand for home-delivered chicken and so Hoa hoped to take advantage and earn some extra money.

“We sold out early and nearly 80% of our orders were for home delivery,” she said.

A rescue vehicle assists motorbike riders through floodwaters on Phung Hung Street in Ha Dong Ward Tuesday morning. Photo by Read/Huy Manh

Thu Trang, 23, an employee at a retirement home in Ha Dong, left home at 6 a.m. on a borrowed motorbike instead of taking the bus as usual to avoid having to wade through the water.

She had to find a way to go to work regardless of the weather since her job cannot be done remotely.

She said: “Working at a nursing home means we cannot take days off. Each staff member has specific duties, and any absence affects the residents.”