by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
HANOI (Worthy News) – Vietnamese authorities said Saturday that the death toll from torrential rain, flooding, and landslides in central Vietnam has risen to 55, with 13 people reported missing.
Footage seen by Worthy News showed people stranded on rooftops desperately signalling for help. In one dramatic rescue, an infant was pulled from a home near raging floodwaters, while elsewhere, a man clinging to what appeared a lamppost was saved as rainwater turned the area into a fast-moving river, sweeping away cars, trees, and debris.
Rainfall reportedly exceeded 1,900 millimeters (74.8 inches) in parts of central Vietnam over the past week. The region is a major coffee-growing belt and a popular coastal tourism zone, but it is also highly vulnerable to storms and floods.
The hardest-hit areas included Đắk Lắk Province in the Central Highlands, where 27 people died, and Khánh Hòa Province on the south-central coast, which reported 14 deaths, according to disaster-management officials. More deaths were reported on Saturday.
Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà described the rainfall pattern as “very abnormal” and warned authorities to act “with urgency” across the devastated provinces.
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính convened an emergency online meeting, ordering ministries and the military to deliver aid “by any means necessary” to isolated and submerged communities.
Local officials said thousands of homes were inundated, major roads were washed away, and electricity was cut to vast areas, complicating rescue efforts. The national disaster-management agency warned that saturated hillsides and swollen rivers mean further landslides and flash floods remain likely.
In the historic riverside town of Hoi An, residents surveyed widespread damage. “Everything was swept away by the floodwaters,” one survivor told local media, “but I’m determined to overcome this challenge.”
Authorities said the immediate priority remains locating the missing and providing food, clean water, and medical support to the most isolated areas, where helicopters and boats are being deployed due to impassable roads.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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