Friday, November 7, 2025, 09:51 GMT+7

Floodwaters engulf homes overnight in Vietnam’s Dak Lak after storm Kalmaegi

In the wake of storm Kalmaegi, which made landfall in Dak Lak and Gia Lai Provinces, central Vietnam on Thursday evening, thousands of residents in Dong Xuan Commune, Dak Lak spent a sleepless night as floodwaters rose swiftly, submerging houses and cutting off roads.

By late Thursday evening and into the early hours of Friday, floodwaters had inundated large parts of Dong Xuan in former Phu Yen Province, which was merged into Dak Lak Province following an administrative reorganization on July 1.

Major routes through the commune were submerged, forcing many vehicles to turn back or remain stranded overnight.

Although the water began to recede on Friday, many roads remained impassable.

In the commune's Long Chau Village, the home of 35-year-old Nguyen Thi Bo was half-submerged.

“Our house sits higher than most others, but the water still rose halfway up the walls,” she said.

“The flood came up so fast, and since this area is low-lying, it felt like we were living in the water,” she added.

“At around 11:00 am on Thursday, water started pouring into our home,” said Nguyen Thi Kim Yen, a 44-year-old resident of Long Binh Village.

She and her family members had been evacuated to the local People’s Committee office before the storm’s landfall.

“Our house is in a low-lying area, so every time there’s a storm, we have to seek shelter at the commune office,” she shared.

“If we hadn’t come here [the commune office] early, we’d be waiting for a rescue boat right now,” said 43-year-old Nguyen Thi Ai Lam from Long Binh Village.

“The water rose so fast that we couldn’t even save our belongings, as we only made sure the children were safe."

According to officials from the commune, rescue operations continued through the night.

Boats and rescue teams were deployed to reach isolated areas and evacuate stranded residents.

Many people had to climb onto their roofs to await help.

Among those taking refuge at the commune office was a group of nearly 10 people who had sought shelter when their convoy became trapped.

Nguyen Thanh, 42, from Tan An Ward, Dak Lak Province, a member of a funeral convoy, said that they were transporting a deceased relative from the province to Hue City for burial when they were forced to stop in Dong Xuan Commune because of rising waters.

“Locals told us the roads ahead were completely flooded, but we couldn’t turn back,” Thanh said.

“Thankfully, the authorities let us stay overnight while we were waiting for the water to recede.”