The death toll from extensive flooding in Vietnam has now reached 90, with 12 individuals still unaccounted for, as per the environment ministry’s announcement on Sunday. The region has been battered by continuous heavy rainfall and landslides since late October, impacting popular tourist spots.
Areas in Nha Trang city along the coast experienced severe flooding last week, while fatal landslides hit the mountainous passes near the tourist destination of Da Lat. In Dak Lak province, heavily affected by the disaster, a 61-year-old farmer named Mach Van Si shared how he and his wife were stranded on their rooftop for two nights due to the floodwaters, leaving their neighborhood devastated.
Dak Lak recorded more than 60 fatalities since November 16, with tens of thousands of homes submerged. The environment ministry reported that four communes in Dak Lak were still underwater as of Sunday. The flooding also caused significant damage to over 80,000 hectares of crops in Dak Lak and neighboring provinces, leading to the loss of 3.2 million livestock.
Efforts to aid affected communities have included helicopter operations to deliver supplies in areas cut off by the flooding and landslides. Authorities mobilized tens of thousands of personnel to distribute essentials like clothing, water purification tablets, and food items. Southern coastal Khanh Hoa province faced severe flooding that washed away two suspension bridges, isolating numerous households, as per official reports.
Despite ongoing relief efforts, numerous national highways remain impassable due to flooding and landslides, with some railway sections still closed. Over 129,000 customers are without electricity, a significant decrease from the previous week’s total blackout affecting over a million individuals. The environment ministry’s assessment on Sunday estimated economic losses from the floods at $343 million across five provinces.
According to the national statistics office, natural disasters in Vietnam have claimed the lives of 279 individuals or left them missing, inflicting over $2 billion in damages from January to October. Vietnam’s vulnerability to heavy rains from June to September is exacerbated by human-induced climate change, contributing to the intensification of extreme weather events.