Decisive evacuations
In Gia Lai Province, torrential rains inundated residential areas from November 17-18, isolating communities of Quy Nhon Dong and Quy Nhon Bac wards, as well as Tuy Phuoc and Tuy Phuoc Dong communes, still battered by typhoon No. 13. Functional forces established checkpoints and deployed canoes to evacuate residents.
Provincial Chairman Pham Anh Tuan issued urgent directives for proactive responses, including school closures in vulnerable zones. Consequently, Gia Lai activated its “3.1 flood response scenario,” preparing to evacuate 8,498 households across 51 communes. Residents are currently buckling under this compounded misery, forcing authorities to execute rapid, decisive measures to ensure public safety amidst the rising waters.
In Dak Lak Province, Yang Mao Commune local forces raced to evacuate 204 households from isolated Ea Han village, using cables to navigate fast-flowing streams. With roads severed, food relief was relayed manually.
Yang Mao Commune Chairman Vo Tan Truc confirmed rescue operations would continue overnight to reach 90 remaining households. Arriving on-scene, Provincial Chairman Ta Anh Tuan demanded decisive action, ordering forces not to wait for the water to recede. The province is providing immediate VND60 million (US$2,360) support per household for collapsed homes.
On November 18, seizing a brief weather respite in Hue City, residents in the communes of Phu Xuan, Thuan Hoa, and Vy Da cleared mud while 663 evacuees returned to repair homes. Concurrently, Vice Chairman Bui Quang Huy of the Vietnam Fatherland Front led a relief delegation to this city. They awarded VND300 million ($11,370) in cash and 3,000 learning kits to residents, plus VND50 million ($1,900) for school repairs and 20 scholarships. These timely interventions aim to help students and locals stabilize their lives post-flood.
In Quang Tri Province, floodwaters have completely receded from the A Rong Tren Spillway (La Lay Commune), where a tractor-trailer was swept away at noon on November 17. The vehicle has surfaced, about 100m downstream from the accident site. Nearly 100 border guards, police, military personnel, and militia members, along with residents, are actively searching for the missing driver, expanding the sweep to Ta Rut and Dakrong communes.
Landslide consequence fixing
In the evening of November 18, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung inspected landslide remediation in Khanh Hoa Province, visiting the site of a catastrophic rockslide on National Highway 27C (Khanh Le Pass) that crushed a passenger bus, killing six and injuring 18.
He urged provincial authorities to execute timely evacuations under the “4-on-site” motto and prioritize urgent repairs to restore traffic flow, ensuring no resident lacks food. Regarding the pass, he emphasized that while clearing the route is vital, the safety of execution forces must be placed first, mandating continuous monitoring to prevent secondary accidents.
Addressing long-term solutions, the Government committed to studying the Nha Trang – Da Lat Expressway investment to improve connectivity. Concluding the session, the Deputy PM provided VND50 billion ($1.96 million) in urgent government support to aid Khanh Hoa’s recovery.
Regarding the serious landslide at Km84+700 in Ky Xuan Commune of Ha Tinh Province, Deputy Director Phan Van Trung of the provincial Construction Department confirmed a thorough remediation plan is underway. Construction will expand by 300m, proceeding from the mountain top down to ensure absolute safety for workers and vehicles. This caution is vital. In early November, continued rockfall at this site damaged machinery and severely injured two people during initial repair efforts, necessitating this rigorous top-down approach.
Official Dispatch No. 219/CD-TTg
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just signed Official Dispatch No. 219/CD-TTg regarding focused response and timely remediation of flood consequences in the Central region. Following previous dispatches, the Prime Minister requires ministries, agencies, and localities in affected areas to proactively and timely direct prevention, response, and rapid remediation efforts, ready to respond to worst-case scenarios and avoid being passive or caught off guard.
Immediate implementation of necessary tasks and measures to ensure the safety of people’s lives is required, placing the mission of ensuring people’s safety above all else. Military, police, and other forces must be mobilized to access isolated residential areas by any means necessary to provide timely support, food relief, and essential supplies, and to evacuate necessary cases to ensure safety.
In Lam Dong Province, National Highway 20 at Km224+700 through Xuan Huong Ward (Da Lat) suddenly suffered a landslide, creating a “frog’s jaw” crater nearly 20m wide. Guardrails were swept down the negative slope by 1-2m. All three critical gateways to Da Lat, namely Khanh Le Pass, D’ran Pass, and Prenn Pass, have had to be temporarily closed to ensure safety.
In Da Nang City’s mountainous border communes, landslides complicate traffic as waterlogged slopes threaten further collapse. Responding to evacuations, the Ga Ry Border Guard Station coordinated a “0-VND kitchen” serving 214 Hung Son Commune residents. Officers and teachers prepared over 200 hot meals and provided 500 bottles of water and milk. Furthermore, military medics examined and distributed medicine to 20 residents suffering from cold-weather symptoms.
In western Quang Ngai Province, prolonged heavy rain caused landslides and flooding on many key roads. The East Truong Son Road through Kon Plong District saw 4 major landslide points.
9 dead, 6 missing due to floods, landslides
In the evening of November 18, the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) reported that floods and rain-induced landslides in the Central region have left 9 people dead (8 in Khanh Hoa Province, 1 in Hue City) and 6 missing in Quang Tri Province, Khanh Hoa Province, and Da Nang City. Currently, 17,705 houses remain flooded in the provinces of Quang Tri, Gia Lai, and Khanh Hoa as well as Hue City.
According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, on November 19, due to the influence of intensified cold air, the Northern region, Thanh Hoa Province, and Nghe An Province will continue to experience cold rain all day (mountainous and midland Northern areas will be severely cold; high mountain areas may experience damaging cold). Due to the influence of this severe weather combined with turbulence in the upper Easterly wind zone, the area from Ha Tinh Province to Khanh Hoa Province will see widespread heavy rain.
