Pulling residents from flood zones
Relentless torrential rains, combined with floodwaters cascading from the Ha Thanh and Con rivers, have submerged a series of downstream residential areas in Quy Nhon and Tuy Phuoc (Gia Lai Province). Many families were caught flat-footed when the floodwaters surged unexpectedly in the night, sweeping away property and livestock.
67-year-old Vo Thi Le from Quy Nhon Dong Ward of Gia Lai Province, just evacuating from the danger zone, was still reeling. “In the middle of the night, the water just came roaring in, sweeping away all our furniture and collapsing the fence,” she recounted. “By dawn, we had to break through the roof just to escape the rising water. I have never seen a flood this fast or this strong. It was even bigger than 2009.”
Nearby, 75-year-old Le Thi Ngoc Xuan and her husband, trapped with three grandchildren, were besieged by water all night, forced to seek refuge in their attic. It wasn’t until noon on November 19 that police forces could reach them and transport the family to safety.
Captain Ho Ngoc Dung of the Quy Nhon Dong Ward Police informed that all eight neighborhoods in the ward are deeply flooded. “From the night of November 18 to the next morning, we prioritized evacuating the elderly, children, and pregnant women,” he said. “This morning, the ward mobilized additional canoes from the coastal villages of Nhon Ly and Nhon Hai to continue the rescue effort.”
Utilizing armored vehicles and boats, military and police forces extracted residents in Tuy Phuoc and Tuy Phuoc Dong communes. By the afternoon of November 19, nearly 10,000 people were rescued. However, a breach in the Luat Le River dike by the fierce Con River caused severe downstream inundation and severed traffic. Consequently, Civil Defense Chief Vu Ngoc An announced urgent plans to evacuate an additional 27,000 residents from these vulnerable downstream areas.
In western Gia Lai Province, rapidly rising floodwaters submerged thousands of homes. Ia Hiao Commune saw 700 houses flooded, while in Nu Hamlet of Uar Commune, all 453 households were inundated. Commune Party Secretary Nay Quyen reported nearly half the population evacuated, with officials cooking for shelters.
Meanwhile, in Ayun Pa Ward, floods isolated 11 people on an alluvial flat, including a critically ill individual. The ward’s Vice Chairman Nguyen Huu Que directed rescue forces to bring all 11 safely to shore.
In the Vu Gia – Thu Bon River basin (Da Nang City), heavy upstream rain combined with reservoir regulation continued to cause deep flooding. In the morning of November 19, a 7-seat car carrying two people stalled in the fast-flowing water and drifted on the DT611 section through Nong Son. The commune’s civil defense force had to use a motorboat to reach the vehicle and tow it to shore just in time.
Disaster risk in Eastern Dak Lak Province at especially serious level
On November 20, intensified cold air and easterly wind turbulence will drive severe cold in the North and widespread heavy rain from Da Nang City to Khanh Hoa Province. With river levels critically high, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting raised the disaster risk to Level 4 for eastern Dak Lak.
This “especially serious” warning signals a lethal combination of major floods and landslides capable of causing massive damage to life and infrastructure. Concurrently, flood conditions remain perilous, with widespread inundation persisting across provinces from Hue City to Khanh Hoa Province.
Rapid restoration of transport infrastructure
Early in the morning of November 19, prolonged heavy rain triggered landslides on a series of mountain slopes in the provinces of Gia Lai, Lam Dong, Quang Ngai, Ha Tinh, and Da Nang City, causing heavy damage and severing traffic on many arterial routes. In Quy Nhon Ward (Gia Lai), a landslide on the Hai Minh peninsula killed one woman. Chairman Nguyen Duc Toan of the Quy Nhon Ward People’s Committee, noted the locality still has 3 points at risk of further sliding; Quy Nhon Nam Ward also recorded 9 danger spots, forcing the evacuation of 36 households.
Heavy rain has also paralyzed the transport system across the South Central - Central Highlands region on a large scale. Road Management Office 3.2 (Road Management Area 3, Department for Roads of Vietnam) stated that National Highway 1A through the Cu Mong tunnel suffered serious landslides, forcing a total ban on vehicles. National Highway 19C, Phuong Hoang Pass, and National Highway 26 were also heavily eroded; the North-South railway through Dak Lak was deeply flooded, forcing trains to stop and wait.
On National Highway 27, authorities closed Song Pha Pass linking Lam Dong and Khanh Hoa provinces after identifying 15 active landslide points threatening travelers. Simultaneously, massive 4-meter waves off Lam Dong Province forced passenger boats servicing Phu Quy Island to suspend operations.
In Lam Dong Province, traffic police diverted vehicles via National Highway 20 and Dong Nai Province to reach National Highway 1A, a significant detour. Maintenance crews are also urgently reinforcing a subsiding section of National Highway 20 at Mimosa Pass.
Meanwhile, in Da Nang’s border commune of Hung Son, shifting rocks and loud explosions persist. Military forces recovered one victim's body in Put Village. In Nam Tra My Ward of Da Nang City, severe erosion isolated critical patients. Medical doctor Tran Van Thu reported that medical transport was impossible until the morning of November 19, when residents and staff carried patients in hammocks past a slide point on National Highway 40B.
On November 19, the Ministry of Construction mandated peak flood control measures across the Central region. Departments from Ha Tinh to Lam Dong must urgently review landslide risks and prepare for worst-case scenarios. The directive prioritizes public safety and rapidly restoring transport infrastructure to facilitate immediate rescue operations.
