Central Vietnam Floods Kill 14, Villages Submerged, Thousands Flee As Rivers Overflow Banks

Hue, Vietnam— At least 14 people are dead after severe flash floods tore through central Vietnam early Monday, ripping apart riverbanks and swallowing low-lying villages before dawn. Water rose too fast for many to escape.

The floods hit Quang Tri, Hue and Quang Nam provinces hardest. Officials said rivers jumped their banks after hours of intense rain. In some communes, water reached rooftops in under an hour. National Route 1A was severed in three places.

Rescue crews moved on foot and by small boat. Power was out. Phone signal cut. One district official in Quang Tri said, "We cannot count the damage yet. We are still trying to get to people."

The government's disaster management office confirmed 14 fatalities by midday, with nine others listed as missing. More than 8,000 homes are under water or heavily damaged. Several thousand hectares of rice and cash crops are gone.

Evacuation centers are packed. Schools are closed. In Hue, families carried children through waist-deep brown water to reach higher ground. Soldiers set up temporary bridges from wooden planks and rope where concrete roads collapsed.

Rainfall totals were extreme. Some stations recorded more than 400 millimeters in 24 hours. Hydrologists said saturated soil and upstream runoff turned normally slow rivers into fast, debris-filled torrents that hit villages sideways.

The system that caused it lingers. Forecasters warn of another heavy band moving in from the East Sea. Authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations in five low-lying districts and told dam operators to maintain controlled releases to avoid a larger breach.

Local hospitals report injuries from debris, falls and electrocution. A nurse in Quang Nam said they are treating people on hallway floors. Supplies are running thin because trucks cannot get through.

For now, the water is not receding fast enough. Crews are waiting for helicopters to reach three isolated hamlets where no contact has been made since last night.