ReliefWeb

A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

On 8 October 2017, Tropical Depression 23W was categorized as level orange, with high winds up to 40.27 mph. The next day, it tore a destructive path across the northern provinces of Vietnam before making landfall on 10 October. While it was not a particularly strong storm, and did not reach to typhoon level, it brought heavy rains, land erosion, and floods to parts of central and northern Vietnam.

Prolonged heavy rains and floods caused damage to infrastructure, particularly bridges, blocking roads and leaving many communities isolated. The situation worsened just after Tropical Depression 23W had passed, Typhoon Khanun passed over the same areas on 16 October. Before Typhoon Khanun made its landfall, the water had already been receding in almost all the rivers in the north of Vietnam, but at a slower pace in some of the affected provinces including Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, and Son La. Among the most affected provinces were Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, and Thanh Hoa with 75 people confirmed dead and dozens injured.

Summary of response

Overview of Host National Society National Disaster Response Teams (NDRTs) and three Provincial Disaster Response Teams (PDRTs) were activated and deployed to three most affected provinces of Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Yen Bai to assist the local chapters to evacuate people to safer places before the disaster hit, as well as to coordinate with local chapters to prepare for emergency response.

Immediately after disaster, one PDRT team was assembled and deployed to support the relief efforts of local government and to help families to clean and repair their houses. VNRC provincial chapters also conducted rapid assessments in the provinces of Yen Bai and Son La and identified that the priority needs were in the areas of shelter, livelihoods, and health.

VNRC Headquarters immediately released its pre-positioned stock and emergency response funds to provide initial support to the affected provinces. This assistance included cash grants, household items, tarpaulins, and water purification tablets. VNRC undertook three relief missions from national headquarters to Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, and Yen Bai Provinces, with the initial support of VND 900 million in cash (CHF 38,270) and in-kind support of VND 57 million (CHF 2,425). Refer to the table below for further details on VNRC actions as of 18 October 2017: