Severe flooding inundates 3,300 homes, leaves 1 dead in Vietnam's Lam Dong

According to a rapid report released on Thursday afternoon, authorities recorded intense to extremely heavy rainfall across Lam Dong between 7:00 pm on Wednesday and 8:00 am on Thursday, with some locations exceeding 200 millimeters.

Floodwaters rose quickly on the Cam Ly, Da Nhim, and Luy Rivers. 

At the Thanh Binh monitoring station on the Cam Ly River, water levels surpassed alert level 3 by 1.36 meters, which is 0.11 meters higher than the province's previous historic flood peak.

As of 4:00 pm on Thursday, officials confirmed one fatality.

N.V.T, aged 60, a resident of Ham Liem Commune, drowned after leaving an evacuation shelter and attempting to return home on his own.

Flooding affected 3,296 homes across the province, with many areas submerged between 0.8 meters and 2.5 meters.

The hardest-hit locations included Ham Liem, Song Luy, Luong Son, Ham Thuan Bac, Lien Huong, Ham Thuan, Ham Thang, Hong Thai, Bac Binh, and Hiep Thanh.

Most of these areas are located in the former Binh Thuan Province, now part of the expanded Lam Dong.

Agricultural losses were significant, with more than 3,350 hectares of crops under water, including rice, vegetables, and fruit trees in Lien Huong, Tuy Phong, Bac Binh, Luong Son, Song Luy, Ham Thuan Bac, Ham Thuan, Dong Giang, Hiep Thanh, Suoi Kiet, Phan Son, and Nam Thanh. Hiep Thanh alone reported about 400 hectares of vegetables submerged.

Across the province, 24 fishing boats sank and more than 4,000 livestock and poultry died or were swept away. About 300 square meters of fish ponds were also damaged.

Infrastructure losses were widespread, with more than 16 landslide sites, four collapsed or damaged rural bridges, and multiple flooded or severed roads.

National Highways 20, 27 and 27C recorded landslides on uphill and downhill slopes in sections passing Xuan Huong, Son Dien, D Ran and Lac Duong, while a bridge in Hiep Thanh collapsed under severe flooding.

Preliminary estimates place total losses from the Thursday flooding at about VND88 billion (US$3.4 million), though local authorities are continuing to update figures and prepare response and recovery plans.

The severe flooding struck as residents in many parts of Lam Dong and several south-central and Central Highlands provinces such as Dak Lak, Gia Lai, and Khanh Hoa are still trying to recover from historic flooding last month that caused loss of life and extensive damage to homes, schools, government buildings and public infrastructure.

As of November 26, prolonged downpours and widespread flooding had left 98 people dead and 10 others missing, while destroying 426 homes and submerging more than 2,000 units, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Authorities estimated economic losses at VND14.352 trillion ($545 million).