Death toll climbs in Southeast Asia as heavy rains cause floods and
landslides
[November 24, 2025]
By HAU DINH
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The death toll in widespread flooding and
landslides caused by heavy rains in Southeast Asia mounted on Monday
with another person reported killed in Vietnam, and five others in
Thailand with tens of thousands of people displaced.
The total number of confirmed dead in Vietnam is now 91, with 11 others
missing as the heavy rain that began a week ago has caused severe
flooding and triggered landslides from Quang Tri to Lam Dong provinces,
a stretch of 800 kilometers (500 miles) along the country’s central
region, including the highlands.
In Dak Lak, the worst hit province, 63 people were killed, mostly due to
drowning. Other fatalities were from Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, Gia Lai,
Danang, Hue and Quang Tri provinces.
With roads washed out in many areas, helicopters have been deployed to
drop food and aid supplies and to assist in evacuating people.
After a break in the rain on the weekend, Pham Thu Huyen was one of many
hundreds of residents and visitors who helped clean up debris washed
ashore in Nha Trang, a popular tourist destination in Khanh Hoa
province, known for its white sand beaches.
“We've never experienced that much rain and such bad flooding,” the
45-year-old said.
Waters have also taken their toll on this year's crops, submerging
coffee farms in Dak Lak, Vietnam’s major coffee growing region.
Overall, damage so far is estimated to be around $500 million in this
round of floods.
Some of the waters have now receded but Vietnam's weather agency warned
that with rains continuing in some places the risks remain, and said a
new tropical depression was forming that could bring worse weather again
later in the week.
Vietnam is among the world’s most flood-prone countries, with nearly
half its population living in high-risk areas. Scientists warn that a
warming climate is intensifying storms and rainfall across Southeast
Asia, making floods and landslides increasingly destructive and
frequent.
The current destruction has hit a region already battered earlier this
month by floods from record rainfall and the powerful typhoon Kalmaegi.
The country was also hit by typhoons in September and October, and the
International Organization for Migration announced Monday that South
Korea would contribute $1 million to help Vietnam assist displaced
people, communities and migrants affected by those.
The United Nations agency said that according to preliminary data,
Vietnam estimates economic damage of some $1.2 billion from that period,
with more than a half million homes damaged and hundreds of thousands of
people evacuated and dozens killed.
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Houses are submerged by floods in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, Nov. 20, 2025.
(Nguyen Huy Thanh/VNA via AP)
In Thailand, torrential rain in the south of the country caused
severe flash flooding over the weekend, affecting nearly 2 million
people, officials said. Five were killed and four were injured
across six southern provinces, according to regional health
officials.
Ten southern provinces have been hit with heavy rainfall over the
last week, and officials warned Monday that water levels are
expected to rise further with the rain expected to continue through
Tuesday.
The city of Hat Yai, a major economic hub in Songkhla province, was
hit with 335 millimeters (more than 13 inches) of rain on Friday,
the highest 24-hour figure in 300 years, officials said.
From Wednesday through Friday, the city saw 630 millimeters (nearly
25 inches) of rain, complicating evacuation efforts as hundreds of
residents and tourists were trapped inside homes and hotels by
rising water that forced emergency crews to use lifeboats to
transport people along flooded streets.
Thailand was already hit with widespread flooding in the north
earlier in the year, followed by months of flooding in the central
region, which killed more than two dozen people. That flooding also
caused widespread damage to farmers fields and crops, and many
thousands of homes.
Malaysia is also grappling with flooding across several states that
is expected to worsen as heavy, persistent rainfall continues.
The Social Welfare Department reported Monday that more than 12,500
people across nine states have been evacuated.
The worst-hit area is the northeastern state of Kelantan, which
accounts for the majority of those displaced. Authorities have
opened 86 temporary shelters and have warned that further rainfall
is expected.
Floods are common in parts of Malaysia during the annual monsoon
season, which begins in November and can last until March.
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Jintamas Saksornchai and David Rising in Bangkok, and Eileen Ng in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this story.
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