City leaders said directives from the Politburo and Party Central Committee’s Secretariat emphasized focused, priority aid for the hardest-hit regions, with Ho Chi Minh City assigned to coordinate support for the south-central province of Khanh Hoa.

At a working session on Friday, Nguyen Phuoc Loc, deputy secretary of the municipal Party Committee and chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee chapter in Ho Chi Minh City, said local agencies, armed forces, and residents would commit total efforts to help affected communities.

Tran Luu Quang, secretary of the municipal Party Committee, is set to lead a delegation to Khanh Hoa on Saturday morning.

Loc requested all departments channel relief activities through a single focal point, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee chapter in Ho Chi Minh City, to avoid overlap and ensure resources reach the right people.

Priority tasks include search and rescue, restoring road and school access, and delivering essential goods such as food, clothing, medicine, and medical supplies.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, after receiving requests from Khanh Hoa authorities, pledged to mobilize 6,000 life buoys, 3,000 life jackets, 50 light rafts, DT3 rescue boats, and additional support for teachers, students, and recovering livelihoods, Tuoi Tre’s editor-in-chief Le The Chu said at the meeting.

Citywide call for donations

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee chapter in Ho Chi Minh City called on agencies, companies, religious groups, armed forces, youth unions, and residents to donate urgently needed supplies:

- Clothing: new or gently used, clean, dry, and sorted by men/women/children.

- Essential goods: non-expired items such as instant noodles, canned food, rice, bottled water, milk, cooking oil, sugar, salt, blankets, raincoats, flashlights, and batteries.

- Post-flood necessities: slippers, socks, towels, soap, detergent, disinfectants, face masks, and basic medicines.

All items will be inspected, sorted, and packed before transportation to disaster zones to ensure they reach the right people and match actual needs.

Two urgent receiving phases:

- Phase 1 (emergency): Afternoon of November 21 and morning of November 22; donations must arrive before 10:00 am to be transported immediately.

- Phase 2: Until 10:00 am on November 24 for areas still isolated or deeply flooded.

14 metro stations receive relief goods

To make donations easier for the public, Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways No.1 Company opened receiving points at all 14 stations along the city’s metro line No. 1.

The stations receive goods from 05:00 am to 10:00 pm daily, and until 11:00 pm on weekends.

Shipments will depart in two phases: before 07:30 am on November 22 and November 24.

Residents respond in overwhelming numbers

Since Friday afternoon, hundreds of Ho Chi Minh City residents have arrived at the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee chapter in Ho Chi Minh City headquarters with clothes, instant noodles, drinking water, milk, medicine, and other essentials.

Frontline staff and volunteers worked continuously to sort and prepare the donations.

Many donors said they reacted immediately upon seeing flood images and wanted to help those stranded without food, clean water, or basic supplies.

At multiple spontaneous community collection points across the city, volunteers, students, and local residents sorted donated clothes and boxed emergency goods for shipment to the hardest-hit areas in the central region.

Organizers said first shipments have already been sent to former Phu Yen Province, now part of Binh Dinh Province, and additional loads are being prepared as donations continue to rise.

High-level government officials arrive in flood zones

Early on Saturday morning, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh reached an evacuation site in Dong Hoa Ward, Dak Lak Province, central Vietnam after a long road journey due to inundated sections of National Highway 1.

He met rescue volunteers and local forces, encouraging them as they struggled against strong currents and extensive isolation.

Rescue teams from Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam attempted through the night to reach flooded communities in Dong Hoa, but violent currents and darkness forced them to turn back.

Some residents returning to search for relatives lost in the floods faced dangerous conditions as rescue boats were nearly overturned.

Many families remained stranded, unable to reach submerged homes.

Dozens of evacuees slept temporarily at the ward office as authorities provided water and instant noodles.

Local leaders in Dong Hoa reported extensive destruction, including at least seven deaths and multiple people missing; deep, widespread flooding with water only receding 1.5m from peak levels; electricity and telecommunications cut off; all ground-level houses submerged up to the roof; one police rescue boat swept away; and extensive livestock losses and infrastructure damage.

Flood death toll rises to 55

As of 6:00 am on Saturday, floods and landslides across the central region caused 55 deaths and 13 missing, with Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa suffering the highest casualties, according to a report from the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority.

More than 28,460 homes remained inundated, nearly 80,000 hectares of farm crops were damaged, and over 377,000 customers remained without electricity.

Initial economic losses exceed VND8.98 trillion (US$340 million).

Heavy rain is forecast to continue across parts of Quang Ngai, Dak Lak, and northern Khanh Hoa on Saturday, with widespread totals of 30-60mm and local amounts above 120mm.