Record Floods Devastate Northern Vietnam, Eight Dead

Record Floods Devastate Northern Vietnam, Eight Dead

Record-breaking floods have swept across northern Vietnam, leaving at least eight people dead and five missing this week, according to government reports.

Torrential rains submerged streets and homes in several communities, with tens of thousands of residents either trapped indoors or forced to flee as floodwaters rose to the tops of cars and rooftops. The hardest-hit area was Thai Nguyen city, located about 80 kilometres north of the capital, Hanoi.

The environment ministry confirmed that flash floods and landslides caused by continuous downpours have claimed lives across the mountainous provinces of Thai Nguyen, Cao Bang and Lang Son since Monday.

By Wednesday morning, water levels in the Cau River — which runs through Thai Nguyen city — exceeded the previous record of 28.81 metres set during Typhoon Yagi in September last year by more than a metre.

Throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday, social media was flooded with desperate pleas for help from residents stranded without electricity, food, or clean water.

“Our ground floor was completely underwater. My parents and five children are stuck with little food and no communication since late Tuesday. They need urgent help,” wrote Thoan Vu, a resident of Thai Nguyen province.

Another resident, Nguyen Van Nguyen, described the disaster as unprecedented. “I have never witnessed such a terrible flood in my 60 years. My street has never flooded before, but now my ground floor is submerged,” he said.

The flooding followed torrential rains from Typhoon Matmo, which weakened after making landfall on Monday but still unleashed widespread destruction across northern Vietnam. The storm struck less than a week after Typhoon Bualoi caused devastating floods that killed at least 56 people and inflicted economic losses exceeding $710 million.

The Vietnamese military has deployed two helicopters to drop emergency supplies — including four tonnes of bottled water, instant noodles, dry food, milk, and lifejackets — to flood-stricken communities in Lang Son province, near the border with China.

Experts warn that human-induced climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in Vietnam and across the region. Typhoons and heavy rains are becoming more destructive, leaving communities increasingly vulnerable to floods, landslides, and infrastructure collapse.