On the morning of 19/12, the United Nations Emergency Response Fund announced 2,65 million USD in aid for Vietnam's disaster response efforts. This announcement was made during the launch of the 2025 joint disaster response plan, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and the United Nations.

This aid will reach 56.000 affected people in Dak Lak, Gia Lai, and Da Nang through 4 organizations: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Pauline Tamesis at the emergency aid announcement. Photo: Gia Chinh

Pauline Tamesis at the emergency aid announcement. Photo: Gia Chinh

Pauline Tamesis, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, stated that the 2025 joint disaster response plan estimates Vietnam needs over 96 million USD to support approximately 1,4 million people affected by disasters, with over 660.000 directly impacted.

Beyond cash aid, the plan will also focus on repairing and rebuilding homes, restoring livelihoods, repairing public infrastructure, enhancing the capacity of local organizations, strengthening community resilience, and promoting comprehensive recovery.

"The actual need for public support is substantial, while current donations are limited. Therefore, we need to coordinate to allocate these funds effectively," Pauline Tamesis said, calling on international organizations to continue partnering with Vietnam in disaster response and recovery efforts.

Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), said that 2025 has been a historic year for disasters in Vietnam, marked by unprecedented records such as storms and tropical depressions in the East Sea, the powerful Ragasa storm, changes in storm landfall patterns, and the first recorded storm traveling from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Forces rebuilding homes after floods in Khanh Hoa. Photo: Bui Toan

Forces rebuilding homes after floods in Khanh Hoa. Photo: Bui Toan

18 rivers in the Northern and Central regions, along with two in the Southern region, exceeded historical flood levels, causing severe inundation. Hue and Quang Tri experienced unseasonal rain and floods during the dry season. The Ban Ve reservoir recorded a flood exceeding a 5,000-year frequency, and Bach Ma peak received a record rainfall of 1.740 mm in one day, ranking second globally.

These events resulted in 419 deaths, hundreds of thousands of homes damaged or collapsed, and severe impacts on the agricultural livelihoods of residents. Total economic damage reached 100.000 billion VND, the highest level ever recorded.

Regarding aid allocation, Nguyen Van Tien stated that due to limited resources, local authorities will organize community meetings for residents to select households genuinely in need of support, which will then be confirmed by commune authorities.

Additionally, to address severe flooding, the coordinating agency will focus on building and upgrading centralized evacuation points, such as schools and cultural centers.

Gia Chinh