Caritas Da Nang has pushed into some of the most isolated flood-hit communities in central Vietnam as successive floods and landslides continue to devastate the region. The social action arm of the Diocese of Da Nang said its teams have been “steadfast on the road” for nearly three weeks, combining urgent relief with early recovery efforts for people trapped by rising waters and collapsing mountain slopes.
In recent days, central provinces have “continued to bend under successive floods and severe landslides,” Caritas Da Nang reported, adding that water returned to communities that had only just begun to dry out. Beginning on November 17, water levels in the Vu Gia and Thu Bon rivers climbed again to between alert level 2 and alert level 3, causing deep and widespread flooding. Caritas teams have travelled through mud-clogged mountain routes to reach villages cut off for days.
In A Teep village in Quang Nam province, Caritas workers found the entire residential area of 15 ethnic minority households buried under thousands of cubic metres of earth and rock. Only rooftops remained above the mud. Residents told the team that 10 homes were completely buried and five seriously damaged, but all 50 people survived after a timely evacuation.During the same mission, Caritas delivered food to 76 families in a nearby hamlet that had been isolated for two weeks with nearly all reserves depleted.
In A Soo village, Caritas Da Nang director Father Simon and Father Joseph Pham Thanh Binh of Caritas Saigon brought food to 50 families stranded by landslides. The organization also delivered a generator to the Tay Giang sub-parish of Dong Vinh Parish. Across multiple districts, Caritas has been distributing warm clothing, blankets, mattresses, bicycles, food, and essential supplies through its Zero-Dong Supermarket model.
