Vietnam's year of natural disasters: 409 dead or missing and more than $3.2B in losses

The disasters have caused 337,297 houses to collapse, be swept away, damaged, or lose their roofs; and 553,417 hectares of rice and other crops, along with 376,792 hectares of other plants, to be flooded and damaged.

At a forum on applying science and technology in disaster forecasting and early warning, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on Nov. 25, Nguyen Ton Quan, deputy head of the Department of Community-based Disaster Risk Management and Communication under the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority, reported the damage from 14 storms and 5 tropical depressions that have occurred in the East Sea so far this year.

Storm Koto that strengthened into a storm on Tuesday night has entered the East Sea, raising the total number of storms and tropical depressions this year to 20, equal the record set in 2017.

Quan also noted that in recent times, extreme heavy rainfall and historically unprecedented flooding across 13 river basins in the northern and central regions have caused severe floods in urban areas and low-lying regions, including major tourist cities like Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang and Nha Trang.

Many areas were struck by all these types of disasters in a short period of time, resulting in compound natural disaster patterns - storm after storm, flood after flood, flash floods, and landslides - particularly in the northern mountainous and midland and central regions. These events have posed serious threats to disaster-prevention infrastructure, public works, and dyke systems, causing extremely severe losses of life and property.

He forecast that in the remaining months of 2025, there is still a risk of major floods in the central region, possibly from Storm Koto's landfall.

Therefore, localities need to focus on overcoming the consequences of recent floods in order to be ready to respond to upcoming natural disasters, he advised.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will continue strengthening capacity and improving the reliability of natural disaster forecasting and warning systems, Quan said, stressing that a key priority is increasing the density of rainfall monitoring stations and enhancing the quality of heavy-rain forecasting to support warnings for flash floods, landslides, flooding, and inundation; as well as developing natural disaster warning maps, especially detailed maps identifying areas at risk of flash floods and landslides down to the village and hamlet level.

The ministry also plans to review, arrange, and relocate residents living in areas with a high risk of natural disasters, particularly landslides and flash floods in mountainous regions, and deep flooding in low-lying areas. In addition, it will adjust crop and livestock structures in regions and localities toward more nature-aligned, efficient, sustainable, and disaster-resilient practices, he stated.