Vietnam Flooding Death Toll Rises to 55
TLEDESK: At least 55 people have died after a week of intense flooding in south-central Vietnam, with 13 others still missing, according to the environment ministry. Heavy rainfall has pounded the region since late October, submerging entire neighborhoods in Nha Trang and triggering deadly landslides near the popular highland city Da Lat.
The worst-hit area is Dak Lak province, where more than two dozen fatalities were reported. Even as floodwaters began to recede Friday, rescuers continued pulling stranded residents from rooftops and treetops.
The disaster also caused major infrastructure disruptions: multiple highways remain blocked, and around 300,000 people are still without electricity after an outage that initially affected over one million.
Between January and October, Vietnam recorded 279 deaths or missing persons from natural disasters, with economic losses exceeding $2 billion. Scientists link the increasing severity of such extreme weather events to human-driven climate change.
