FILE PHOTO: A resident looks on next to the debris of a structure destroyed in high winds in Nhon Hai fishing village near Quy Nhon in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi in Gia Lai province, central Vietnam on November 7, 2025. - AFP
HANOI: Torrential rain and landslides from Sunday night have battered central Vietnam, leaving 14 people dead or missing, according to the Tuesday morning (Nov 18) update from Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Khanh Hoa Province has reported the heaviest losses, with nine people dead or missing, including seven deaths and two people unaccounted for.
Six deaths, along with 19 others injured cases, are from a single serious incident on the Khanh Le Pass when a mountain slide hit a sleeper coach with 32 on board en route from Da Lat to Quang Ngai late Sunday night. The driver along with five other passengers died on the scene.
In Da Nang City, three people are missing, while one person is missing in Quang Tri Province and another in Thua Thien Hue Province.
Three houses have been damaged. Flooding has also devastated agriculture, with some 7,000 hectares of rice and 430 hectares of perennial crops affected. Livestock losses include 357 cattle and nearly 4,900 poultry killed or washed away. Five motorboats and canoes sank in Quang Tri and Khanh Hoa, while one bridge in Quang Ngai and a reservoir in Khanh Hoa were damaged.
Flooding has also returned in several low-lying areas, with nearly 14,924 homes inundated across central provinces. Local authorities have evacuated around 5,900 people to safer locations.
Hundreds of sections of national highways, provincial roads and inter-commune routes have been submerged or hit by landslides, bringing traffic to a standstill across the region.
In Quang Trị, 86 locations have been flooded, blocking access on several key routes.
Hue has reported 28 flooded locations, including three sections of National Highway 49B under 20 to 50 centimetres of water. Parts of the Ho Chi Minh Highway are submerged by up to half a metre.
In Da Nang, landslides have blocked National Highway 40B through Nam Tra My, while rural roads in Nam Giang and Ben Giang are also cut off.
Khanh Hoa has seen two sections of National Highway 1A flooded by up to 50 centimetres near the Du Long industrial zone and Nam Cam Ranh. Rural roads across various communes are also under water.
In Quang Ngai, landslides have disrupted traffic at three points on rural roads.
In Lam Dong, a section of National Highway 20 at the Prenn Pass has collapsed 100m along the lower talus slope. Authorities have closed the pass to ensure safety. — Vietnam News/ANN
