Flood Death Toll in Vietnam Rises to 43, with Coffee Regions Hard-Hit

The death toll in Vietnam has risen to 43 due to severe flooding after days of torrential rain. The heavy downpours have particularly affected the central highlands, home to the country’s coffee-growing regions, while many popular tourist destinations have also been submerged.

According to government reports, around 61,000 people have been evacuated, with over half a million still without power. The government held an emergency meeting with leaders from four central provinces to assess the damage, and the national weather agency has issued flash flood and landslide warnings for six provinces.

In Dak Lak, Vietnam’s largest coffee-growing province, the rain has disrupted harvests, with some areas recording a staggering 1,792 millimetres (70 inches) of rainfall since Sunday. Further downpours are expected, threatening to disrupt coffee production in the world’s top producer of robusta beans.

Floodwaters have engulfed entire blocks in the popular resort town of Nha Trang, located in Khanh Hoa province, stranding hundreds of cars, according to VnExpress. This comes just weeks after other tourist hotspots such as Hue and Hoi An were also submerged by rising waters.

Recent weeks have seen a significant increase in rainfall across Vietnam, with total precipitation at least 270 millimetres above historical averages in the month leading up to November 19. The forecast indicates that above-average rainfall is expected to continue through early December, particularly in the northern central coastal regions.

Two major climate factors are driving the wet weather in Southeast Asia: the active La Niña weather pattern and the negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole. Forecasts suggest that southern mainland Southeast Asia will continue to see above-average rainfall in the months of November, December, and January, according to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre.

Vietnam has been hit by at least 13 major storms this year, and the country has suffered 241 deaths and over 53.8 trillion dong ($2 billion) in damage from natural disasters between January and October.

In Khanh Hoa, one of the hardest-hit provinces, about 800 millimetres of rain fell in a single day this week. Some areas have been completely cut off by floodwaters, and authorities are still trying to reach more than 300 households.