In Hoi An, the floodwater rose to waist height, and people moved around the ancient town in wooden boats. Record rain has done that to central Vietnam, and officials said on Sunday that at least 35 people are dead and five are missing.
The count began much lower. On Wednesday the government reported nine deaths and five missing, News.Az said, citing Reuters. Six of those victims died in Danang and Hoi An, two of the country’s best-known tourist destinations.
Rain at record levels
Torrential rain has hammered the coastal provinces since the previous weekend. The Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority (VDDMA) said up to 1.7 meters fell in just 24 hours, the heaviest downpour ever recorded in the region. Reuters, as relayed by News.Az, put rainfall in some areas at more than 1,000 millimeters in 24 hours, also the highest on record.
Deaths have been reported in Hue, Da Nang, Lam Dong and Quang Tri provinces, where water has covered homes, roads and farmland.
“Everyone is in shock after the flood,” said Chuong Nguyen, a 43-year-old local resident. “People were preparing, but they didn’t expect the water to rise so high.”
Homes, livestock and fields
The VDDMA counts more than 16,500 houses still underwater. Over 40,000 livestock and poultry have been swept away, and more than 5,300 hectares of cropland are submerged. Earlier in the week, Vietnam’s environment ministry said over 100,000 homes had flooded and 150 landslides had been reported in several provinces. The Reuters-based report gave a figure of more than 103,000 flooded homes, mostly in Hue and Hoi An.
State media photos showed streets turned into rivers and rescue teams struggling to reach some affected areas. Authorities warned that heavy rain, flash floods and landslides could continue, with rivers and reservoirs still dangerously high.
A bad storm year
Vietnam usually sees around ten typhoons or tropical storms a year. In 2025 it has already recorded 12. Experts warn that human-driven climate change is making storms and floods in Southeast Asia deadlier and more destructive.
Government figures show that natural disasters, mostly floods, storms and landslides, killed or left missing 187 people in Vietnam in the first nine months of the year. They caused more than $610 million in economic losses.
Sources
- TRT World – At least 35 dead as record floods devastate central Vietnam
- Floods devastate Central Vietnam, killing at least 9 and leaving 5 missing | News.az
