Vietnam’s deputy PM orders urgent evacuations as severe flooding hits Dak Lak

Severe flooding continued across eastern Dak Lak on Wednesday as Deputy PM Dung inspected inundated areas and urged local authorities to “use every remaining hour today to rescue residents.”

Water levels in Tuy An Bac Commune and nearby areas were reported to be approaching the province’s historic 1993 peak, making access extremely difficult for rescue teams.

Local officials said the ‘four-on-the-spot’ disaster response mechanism had been activated early, but rapid water rises isolated entire neighborhoods overnight.

The province has requested reinforcements from the military, police, and local army units to expand rescue operations.

Rapid-response teams in villages are checking households, mapping trapped residents, and supporting urgent relocations.

The deputy PM ordered authorities to block all dangerous, deeply flooded, or landslide-prone roads and to supply food, water, and essentials at evacuation sites.

By midday on Wednesday, many communes and wards in northeastern Dak Lak remained underwater.

The provincial military command reported rescue operations were hampered by a lack of equipment in some areas, while other locations were accessible only by boat.

Several communities lost communication, making real-time damage estimates impossible. One fatality linked to flooding was confirmed.

The province warned that national highways running through eastern Dak Lak, including sections of National Highway 1 and National Highway 29, may be cut off as water continues rising.

Extreme rainfall, record-high river levels

According to the Dak Lak Hydro-Meteorological Station, rainfall over the past 15 hours reached extreme levels, up to 810mm in Son Thanh and more than 740mm in Hoa Dong.

Rainfall of 100-200mm is expected through Friday, with some areas exceeding 300mm.

Flooding on rivers Ky Lo, Tam Giang, and downstream Ba River is forecast to rise above alarm level 3 by up to 3.5m. Some stations are now only centimeters below historical peaks.

Hydropower reservoirs including Song Ba Ha, Song Hinh, and Krong HNang are discharging large volumes of up to 12,370m³/s downstream, raising the risk of compound flooding in low-lying communities.

Authorities reported more than 8,500 households flooded so far, with nearly 2,000 households (over 5,600 people) evacuated. Flooding remains 1-3m deep in many communes along the Ba and Ky Lo Rivers.

Roads blocked, villages isolated

Severe flooding and landslides have disrupted most major routes across eastern Dak Lak.

National Highway 29 recorded 13 inundated sections up to 60cm deep.

Sections of National Highway 25 and National Highway 1 were also blocked.

On the Truong Son Dong route, water flowed down mountainsides “like waterfalls,” according to local officials. Segments between Yang Mao and Cu Pui were submerged 1-1.7m, with landslides and debris causing heavy congestion.

More than 100 residents of Yang Han Village in Yang Mao Commune were moved to schools and community halls, where a field clinic staffed by five doctors is providing medical care, said Vo Tan Truc, chairman of the commune administration.

In Cu Pui Commune, authorities said floodwaters began receding, but many families remain displaced and have lost most of their belongings, according to the commune’s chairman Huynh Duy Trung.

Krong Bong Commune reported improving conditions, though residents in landslide-affected zones are temporarily staying in their relatives’ homes.

Pham Minh Huan, head of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, said rainfall of 350-490mm in several areas caused extensive damage to thousands of hectares of crops, livestock facilities, rural roads, and public works.

Thirty-four communes and wards in eastern Dak Lak remain submerged 1-1.5m deep, with additional flooding recorded in areas such as M’Drak, Krong Bong, Ea Sup, and Krong Ana.

“We still cannot fully assess the losses. The priority now is rescue, evacuation, and safeguarding people’s property,” said Huan.