Historical flood in central Vietnam: Politburo orders maximum support efforts

THE HANOI TIMES — As the floods in central Vietnam continues to break historic records, the Politburo has ordered the highest level of mobilization to protect human life and speed up relief and recovery efforts.

The highest political body issued the request after exceptionally severe floods struck central and Central Highlands provinces from November 16 to 20, causing 68 dead and missing and VND8.8 trillion (US$378 million) worth of damage.

The directive stresses that saving lives is the top priority, while all forces and resources must be deployed to support affected communities in Danang, Gia Lai, Dak Lak,  Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong.

In its notice issued on November 21, the Politburo acknowledged the heavy loss of life and property, expressed condolences to the affected localities and commended the efforts of frontline forces.

It requested ministries and localities to focus on relief operations to ensure no one lacks food, clean water, or medicine and use military and police forces with specialized equipment, including helicopters and unmanned aircraft, to deliver supplies to isolated areas.

Local authorities were asked to apply the four-on-the-spot principle (on-the-spot leadership, forces, supplies and logistics to ensure immediate action without waiting for outside support) to restore essential services as soon as floodwater recedes, distribute relief, ensure dam safety and tighten traffic control in deeply flooded and landslide-prone zones.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front was tasked with expanding international cooperation, mobilizing resources and organizing donation campaigns.

The Politburo and the Secretariat also established five working groups to inspect and direct recovery efforts and assigned specific cities and provinces to support the most affected areas, with Hanoi assisting Gia Lai, Ho Chi Minh City supporting Khanh Hoa, Haiphong sharing with Dak Lak and Quang Ninh helping Lam Dong.

Casualties continue to rise as of the morning of November 22

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s Department of Disaster and Dyke Management Authority, 68 people were dead or missing as of 6 AM on November 22.

Dak Lak suffered the worst losses with 27 deaths and 8 missing.

Flooding damaged 946 houses and left 28,460 still inundated, including 11,586 in Dak Lak, 10,374 in Khanh Hoa and 6,500 in Gia Lai.

In addition, more than 180,000 hectares of rice crops, vegetables and perennial trees were destroyed. Over 3.2 million livestock and poultry were killed or swept away.

Transport in the central region remained paralyzed with landslides and flooding blocking 16 national highway sections and 180 provincial and inter-commune roads.

The railway sector suspended six more passenger trains on November 22.

At the same time, electricity outages affected more than 377,000 households, including over 217,000 in Dak Lak.

Following the losses, the prime minister decided to support VND700 billion ($26 million) for four provinces, namely Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Dak Lak.

Meanwhile, three working teams led by deputy prime ministers have visited Dak Lak, Lam Dong and Gia Lai to inspect the situation and response efforts.

Hanoi launches support for Gia Lai and flood-hit central provinces

The Hanoi Party Committee on November 21 asked agencies to prepare support plans for central provinces, with priority for Gia Lai under the Politburo assignment.

The committee requested the city government and Gia Lai authorities to review damage and propose assistance focusing on essential goods, housing for poor and near-poor households, critical infrastructure and post-disaster production recovery, using funds from the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the city budget.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front was also tasked with launching a fundraising campaign across the political system, residents, businesses, agencies, units and overseas Hanoians to uphold the tradition of “Hanoi for the nation.”

On the afternoon of November 21, Hanoi provided an initial VND50 billion ($1.9 million) to Gia Lai to help address immediate losses caused by the floods.

Additionally, the city contributed VND10 billion ($379,000) to the Vietnam Fatherland Front in the national fundraising campaign.

Hanoi affirmed that it will work closely with Gia Lai on recovery plans to restore production and stabilize local livelihoods once floodwater recedes.

It reflects the solidarity, responsibility and support that the capital city extends to communities in the central and Central Highlands regions as they work to overcome severe impacts of the disaster.