Days of relentless rain and powerful landslides have devastated central Vietnam and the Central Highlands, killing at least 90 people and leaving 12 others missing, the government said on Sunday as rescue teams scrambled to reach isolated communities.
The Environment Ministry said the bulk of the casualties occurred in the mountainous province of Đắk Lắk, where flash floods and cliff-top landslides swept away homes and blocked roads, hampering emergency response. Local authorities reported scenes of towns cut off, roads washed away and families evacuated by boat and helicopter.
Officials estimate economic losses across five heavily affected provinces at roughly $340–$343 million, with thousands of homes inundated, wide swathes of farmland ruined and major damage to local infrastructure including bridges and highways. Emergency services say tens of thousands of houses were flooded and many residents remain in temporary shelters.
Coastal cities popular with tourists were also hard hit. Nha Trang saw streets and beaches strewn with debris and garbage washed downriver, while highland tourist hubs such as Da Lat experienced deadly landslides that buried houses and blocked arterial mountain passes. Power outages and disruptions to communications made damage assessments difficult in the worst-hit districts.
The floods are the latest in a year of extreme weather for Vietnam. Authorities and scientists point to a pattern of increasingly intense precipitation — a trend experts link to climate change — that is compounding risk in mountainous and low-lying coastal areas. The government has mobilised army units and disaster rescue teams to clear roads, evacuate residents and deliver food and medical supplies to cut-off communities.
International agencies and neighbouring countries have offered assistance, and Vietnamese officials said they would prioritise repairing critical infrastructure and housing ahead of the lunar new year when many people travel and relocate. For now, search-and-rescue operations continue in remote districts while authorities urge residents to heed warnings and avoid travel in flood-prone areas.
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