Vietnam Floods Claim 90 Lives: Ongoing Search for Missing Residents

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The death toll from major flooding in Vietnam has reached 90, with 12 people still missing after days of heavy rain and landslides.

Relentless rain has lashed south-central Vietnam since late October and popular holiday destinations have been hit by several rounds of flooding.

Whole sections of coastal Nha Trang city were inundated last week, while deadly landslides struck highland passes around the Da Lat tourist hub.

In the hard-hit mountainous province of Dak Lak, 61-year-old farmer Mach Van Si said the floodwaters left him and his wife stranded on their sheet-metal rooftop for two nights.

“Our neighborhood was utterly devastated. Not a single structure remained intact, and everything was submerged in mud,” a resident recounted on Sunday, reflecting on the catastrophic impact.

A Vietnamese man carrying a cat through flood waters

Between January and October, Vietnam has been battered by natural disasters that have resulted in 279 individuals either dead or missing. The financial toll of these calamities has surpassed $2 billion, according to official reports.

In a poignant image capturing the crisis, a Vietnamese man can be seen carrying a cat through the floodwaters, highlighting the human and animal plight. The scale of destruction is vast and widespread.

One survivor, Si, shared that by the time he and others had to resort to climbing a ladder to seek refuge on their roof, fear had given way to resilience.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment reported that as of Sunday, four communes in the Dak Lak province remain submerged, underscoring the ongoing challenges faced by the affected communities.

Authorities have used helicopters to airdrop aid to communities cut off by flooding and landslides, with the government deploying tens of thousands of personnel to deliver clothing, water-purification tablets, instant noodles and other supplies to affected areas, state outlet Tuoi Tre News said.

Severe flooding in southern coastal Khanh Hoa province washed away two suspension bridges last week, leaving many households isolated, the outlet said, citing officials.

Several locations on national highways remained blocked on Sunday due to flooding or landslides, according to the environment ministry, and some railway sections were still suspended.

More than 129,000 customers remained without electricity, after more than a million were without power last week.

The environment ministry on Sunday estimated economic losses of US$343 million ($577 million) across five provinces due to the floods.

Natural disasters have left 279 people dead or missing in Vietnam and caused more than US$2 billion ($3 billion) in damage between January and October, according to the national statistics office.