The Prime Minister extended his deepest condolences to families whose loved ones have died, gone missing, or been injured. He expressed sympathy with communities suffering from heavy losses and praised frontline forces for their continuous efforts in extremely challenging conditions.

The Prime Minister recalled Party General Secretary To Lam’s directive that top priority is given to protecting lives and ensuring the safety and health of the people. Immediate search and rescue operations must continue around the clock, while proper arrangements for those who died must be ensured. The government must urgently restore shelters, ensure access to schools and medical facilities, and deliver food, drinking water, and medicine to isolated areas. Restoration of electricity, telecommunications, and transportation networks must be carried out as quickly as conditions allow.

Historic rainfall and unprecedented flooding

Preliminary reports show as of 8 p.m. on November 20, extremely heavy rainfall has drenched the region from Gia Lai to Khanh Hoa since November 16. Some areas recorded more than 1,700 mm of rain, including 1,792 mm in Dak Lak, an exceptionally rare event.

Floodwaters on major rivers, including the Ba and Ky Lo Rivers (Dak Lak), and the Dinh River (Khanh Hoa), exceeded historic peaks by 0.2 to 1.1 meters before gradually receding. Authorities described the rapid rise in water levels as “unprecedented” in several locations.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh, flooding in recent days has developed extremely rapidly and unpredictably. Many areas experienced devastating inundation overnight. Some localities in Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa, he noted, had “never witnessed flooding of this scale.”

Since the onset of the disaster, the Prime Minister has issued five official directives guiding the response to the floods, landslides, and widespread inundation. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers have maintained constant contact with provincial leaders to monitor developments and coordinate emergency actions.

Frontline forces have been deployed on an extraordinary scale. The Ministry of National Defence mobilized more than 18,000 officers and soldiers along with 441 vehicles. The Ministry of Public Security has deployed over 17,600 officers, 24,000 grassroots-level personnel, and more than 3,200 vehicles to maintain order and support rescue operations.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has dispatched three working teams to work directly with localities and issued two rounds of emergency SMS and Zalo alerts to millions of residents in affected areas.

Local authorities have urgently evacuated 18,408 households (approx. 61,035 people) from dangerous zones. Schools have been temporarily closed in many districts. Hydropower plants on the Ba River basin reduced 96.3 million cubic meters of water to help lower downstream water levels.

Severe losses and widespread disruption

At least 50 people have died or remain missing, including 41 confirmed deaths and 9 missing. A total of 167 houses have been damaged and more than 51,000 homes have been submerged, mostly in Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Khanh Hoa. Dozens of communes and wards across the three provinces remain deeply flooded.

Agricultural losses are extensive, with more than 13,000 hectares of rice and crops damaged, more than 2,100 hectares of perennial and annual crops affected, and 30,731 livestock and poultry swept away. In Khanh Hoa alone, 88 hectares of lobster farms have been destroyed.

Transportation networks have suffered major disruptions. Thirty sections of national highways remain inundated, causing traffic disruptions. Many provincial and communal roads are impassable due to deep flooding or landslides.
Power outages have affected more than one million customers; electricity has been restored for nearly half, while more than 553,000 are without power.

Provinces have prepared emergency food stocks. Military Region 5 has been instructed to supply dry rations and drinking water to isolated areas. The Ministry of National Defence on November 20 deployed two Mi-171 helicopters to the severely flooded areas of Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak provinces to conduct emergency search-and-rescue operations and deliver relief supplies.

Floods leave 41 dead in Vietnam, affected localities in need of supplies

VOV.VN - Over the past days, subsequent floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain have taken their heavy toll on Central Vietnam, leaving 41 dead and nine missing, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.