South-central Vietnam flood death toll rises to 91, with over $490mn in damage

The south-central region is reeling after days of intense rainfall triggered deadly floods, landslides, widespread destruction, and mass power outages.

The hardest-hit province is Dak Lak, where 63 people were killed and eight remain missing, figures unchanged from the previous day, according to the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority.

More than 221 homes were destroyed, 933 were damaged, and nearly 201,000 were inundated.

Dak Lak alone recorded 150,000 flooded homes, while Khanh Hoa Province reported nearly 37,000 and Gia Lai Province about 19,200.

Two communes in Dak Lak, namely Hoa Thinh and Hoa My, remained underwater on Monday, along with 127 households in Lam Dong Province’s Nam Da and Cat Tien areas.

Agricultural losses are devastating as 82,000 hectares of rice and vegetables, another 117,000 hectares of long-term crops, and 1,157 hectares of aquaculture fields were damaged. More than 3.3 million livestock and poultry were killed or swept away.

Major transportation routes were also heavily disrupted.

National Highway 1 has reopened, but landslides continue to block 14 locations on National Highway 27C in Khanh Hoa.

In Lam Dong, landslide-ravaged parts of the Mimosa Pass, the D’Ran Pass, and the National Highway 27C section through Lac Duong Commune and Lam Vien Ward remain inaccessible.

Railway operations face challenges as 15 damaged points along routes between Dong Tac, Phu Hiep, and Hao Son undergo emergency repairs caused by controlled hydropower releases on the Ba Ha River.

Passenger trains are being partially rerouted between Gia Station in Khanh Hoa and Tuy Hoa Station in Dak Lak, affecting SE1, SE2, SE3, SE6, SE8, and SE47 services.

The entire Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City rail line is expected to fully reopen by Tuesday night.

Electricity remains cut to more than 258,000 people across Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Khanh Hoa.

Over 340 telecom base stations in Dak Lak and Khanh Hoa lost connection during the flooding.

The estimated economic loss so far is roughly VND13.078 trillion dong ($496 million), with Dak Lak accounting for about VND5.330 trillion ($202 million) and Khanh Hoa about VND5 trillion ($190 million).

Local administrations continue to update damage reports as the situation evolves.

On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc approved an emergency relief package worth VND1.100 trillion ($42 million), including VND500 billion ($19 million) for Dak Lak, VND300 billion ($11.4 million) for Lam Dong, and VND150 billion ($5.7 million) each for Khanh Hoa and Gia Lai.

The Ministry of Finance also released 4,000 metric tons of rice from national reserves for Lam Dong, Gia Lai, and Dak Lak.

The national weather agency forecast that heavy rain in the south-central region would begin easing from Tuesday.