At least 90 people have died and 12 remain missing in Vietnam after days of intense rainfall sent floodwaters surging through large parts of the country, triggering landslides and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of homes.
Government data show that more than 235,000 houses have been inundated nationwide, and around 80,000 hectares of crops have been ruined.
Officials estimate economic losses of up to £270m across five badly affected provinces – Quang Ngai, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong.
The mountainous province of Dak Lak has borne the brunt of the disaster, accounting for more than 60 deaths since 16 November.
Tens of thousands of houses were submerged there after rivers overtopped embankments and rainfall exceeded 1.9m in some locations – levels unseen in parts of the region since 1993.
In several spots, the Ba River and the Cai River rose past historic highs, the national weather bureau said.
Residents described scenes of total collapse. Mach Van Si, a 61-year-old farmer in Dak Lak, told AFP: “Our neighbourhood was completely destroyed. Nothing was left. Everything was covered in mud.”
He and his wife spent two nights trapped on their sheet-metal roof as the waters rose. “I just thought we were going to die because there was no way out,” he said.
The flooding follows weeks of severe weather in south-central Vietnam, where heavy rain has battered the coastline since late October.
Tourist hubs such as Nha Trang, Da Lat and Quy Nhon were repeatedly inundated, with landslides cutting off highland passes and city blocks submerged under muddy water.
More than 3.2 million livestock and poultry have been killed or washed away, according to environment officials, while rice paddies and coffee plantations – a major export industry for Vietnam – have been badly damaged.
Around 258,000 households were without electricity at the height of the disaster, and more than 129,000 customers still lacked power on Sunday, reported BBC, citing officials.
Military, police and naval units have been deployed across the south and central regions to carry out rescues and deliver aid.
Helicopters were used to airdrop supplies to isolated communities, and emergency teams broke into windows and roofs to reach stranded residents in Dak Lak and Gia Lai. In Khanh Hoa, naval officers assisted families forced onto the roofs of their flooded homes.
Local police also released footage of a drone hoisting a man to safety from a small island in the Serepok River.
Two suspension bridges in Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong were swept away last week as torrents cut through valleys, severing access to villages, state outlet Tuoi Tre News reported, citing officials.
Sections of several national highways and railway lines remain blocked by floodwater or landslides.
Prime minister Phạm Minh Chính chaired an emergency meeting remotely from the G20 summit in South Africa, instructing provincial authorities to accelerate repairs and ensure displaced residents are rehoused before the Lunar New Year in late January.
He ordered 500bn Vietnamese dong (£16m) in immediate support for Dak Lak, with further funds for Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Khanh Hoa.
State media reported that rescuers had to bring food and drinking water to flooded hospitals in Binh Dinh province, where medical staff and patients survived for days on instant noodles.
Vietnam experiences heavy monsoon rains from June to September, but successive storms and typhoons have struck unusually hard this year, including Kalmaegi and Bualoi earlier in the autumn.
Scientists warn that human-driven climate change is intensifying the country’s exposure to extreme weather, making severe floods and storms more frequent and destructive.
Between January and October alone, natural disasters left 279 people dead or missing in Vietnam and caused more than $2bn (£1.6bn) in losses, according to the national statistics office.
