Vietnam's Ongoing Flood and Typhoon Crisis

At present, Vietnam is undergoing one of the most disastrous and longest lasting periods of natural disasters in its history; most of these are occurring in the central region and Central Highlands. The reason for this disaster period is due to an unprecedented string of strong typhoons and tropical storms which have dropped enormous amounts of rain on the area, leading to destructive floods that have put too much water into rivers and caused lethal landslides that are separating entire communities, and destroying homes, infrastructure and agricultural land throughout many of the provinces. As a direct result of the ongoing intensity of these disasters there is a tragic loss of life occurring as numerous people are either dead or missing, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their flood ravaged and/or destroyed homes leaving relief efforts at an all-time high.

This ongoing disaster is having a multifaceted effect on the country's population, and will require immediate humanitarian assistance as well as long term planning to assist in the recovery process. Due to the fact that families have lost everything (their homes, their means of making a living, and important family possessions) they are struggling to obtain basic items such as clean water, food, etc., while also facing a long difficult path to recover. In addition to providing families with the immediate needs of shelter and medical care, there is a pressing need to assist in rebuilding schools, repairing critical public infrastructure (roads, bridges), and restoring the agricultural base which provides the economic support to the central provinces. The international community is required to assist in the provision of support to local and national efforts to assist those in need, rehabilitate damaged/destroyed areas, and establish and implement measures to protect against similar climate related catastrophes in the future.