Vietnam found itself in the crosshairs of nature’s fury as Typhoon Bualoi barreled toward its central and northern coasts on September 28 and 29, 2025, prompting mass evacuations, infrastructure shutdowns, and a nationwide scramble for safety. The storm, packing winds up to 133 kilometers per hour (83 miles per hour), was the tenth typhoon to strike the country this year—a stark reminder of the region’s vulnerability to extreme weather fueled by the warming Pacific Ocean.
Authorities wasted no time in mobilizing their response. According to the Vietnamese National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Bualoi was moving at nearly double the typical speed for storms in the region, with a broad area of impact and the potential to unleash a cocktail of natural disasters: strong winds, torrential rains, flash floods, landslides, and coastal inundation. The government’s warning was clear: “This is a rapidly moving storm, nearly twice the average speed, with strong intensity and a broad area of impact. It is capable of triggering multiple natural disasters simultaneously, including powerful winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, flash floods, landslides, and coastal inundation.”
In an unprecedented mobilization, nearly 117,000 military personnel were deployed to assist with evacuations and disaster response, as reported by state media and confirmed by Al Jazeera. Over 250,000 residents were ordered to leave their homes, with the largest efforts centered in the central city of Danang, where more than 210,000 people were moved to safety. Hue, a city particularly prone to flooding, saw more than 32,000 residents evacuated, while Ha Tinh province—an important steel production hub—relocated over 15,000 people to schools and medical centers converted into temporary shelters.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for the “highest level of readiness,” underscoring the seriousness of the threat. “I feel a bit anxious but still hopeful that everything will be fine in the aftermath. We were all safe after the recent typhoon Kajiki. I hope this one will be the same or less severe,” shared Nguyen Cuong, a 29-year-old resident of Ha Tinh City, in an interview with AFP. The sentiment was echoed by many, but as the storm’s winds howled and rain pounded the coast, anxiety was palpable.
To minimize risk, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam suspended operations at four major coastal airports—including Danang, Dong Hoi, Quang Tri, and Tho Xuan—causing hundreds of flight cancellations and delays. The closures were staggered throughout Sunday, September 28, and into Monday, September 29, with authorities warning that further disruptions could occur depending on the typhoon’s trajectory and intensity. Fishing boats were called back to harbor, and local authorities in Da Nang even mobilized over 200 workers with trucks, sand, bamboo stakes, and other materials to reinforce the coastline ahead of the storm.
Bualoi made landfall late on September 28 and into the early hours of September 29, striking central Vietnam with full force. By 8 a.m. local time, the typhoon was over Nghe An province, its maximum wind speeds reduced to 88 kilometers per hour from 117 kilometers per hour at landfall, according to Vietnam’s national weather forecast agency (as reported by Channel News Asia). But the damage was already mounting. Floodwaters surged through Hue, where one woman was swept away and later confirmed dead. In Thanh Hoa province, a falling tree claimed another life. The government’s disaster management agency reported that 17 fishermen went missing after huge waves capsized two fishing boats off Quang Tri province, while another vessel lost contact during the storm. Eight others were rescued in a dramatic effort near the mouth of the Cua Viet Channel, but the search for the missing continued as conditions allowed.
Residents described a harrowing night. “I stayed awake the whole night fearing the door would be pulled off by strong winds,” said Ho Van Quynh, a resident of Nghe An province. Nguyen Tuan Vinh, age 45, told Channel News Asia, “I’ve witnessed many storms, and this is one of the strongest.” His neighbors spent the night protecting their homes as power outages swept through the region—over 347,000 families lost electricity, according to Devdiscourse and state media reports. Concrete pillars toppled, roofs were ripped from buildings, and access to several areas was cut off by floodwaters and debris.
In the aftermath, authorities tallied the destruction: at least two confirmed deaths, 17 still missing, 245 houses damaged, and nearly 1,400 hectares of rice and other crops inundated. The storm’s slow movement raised the specter of prolonged flooding and landslides through October 1, with rainfall in some areas forecast to reach up to 500 millimeters. The threat of landslides and flash floods loomed large, particularly in already saturated northern and central provinces. Despite the widespread impact, there were no immediate reports of major damage to industrial properties, including factories owned by Foxconn, Luxshare, Formosa Plastics, and Vinfast—though these facilities were uncomfortably close to the storm’s path.
Vietnam’s vulnerability to typhoons is nothing new. With its long coastline facing the South China Sea, the country routinely braces for storms that form east of the Philippines before sweeping westward. Bualoi had already left a trail of devastation in the Philippines, causing at least 20 deaths and forcing more than 350,000 people to evacuate, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and corroborated by EFE and Al Jazeera. The storm knocked out power in several Philippine towns and cities, upended daily life, and left communities digging out from mud and debris.
The frequency and intensity of these storms are raising alarms among scientists and policymakers alike. Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting and international experts warn that climate change is amplifying the power of typhoons in Southeast Asia. In the first seven months of 2025 alone, more than 100 people in Vietnam were killed or went missing due to natural disasters, as reported by the agriculture ministry. The economic toll is equally staggering: Typhoon Yagi, which struck in September 2024, caused $3.3 billion in losses and claimed hundreds of lives, making it the most powerful typhoon to hit Vietnam in three decades.
Vietnam’s recent history with typhoons underscores the need for robust disaster preparedness and resilient infrastructure. In late August 2025, Typhoon Kajiki killed at least seven people, injured 34, damaged 10,000 homes, and devastated more than 81,500 hectares of rice crops, forcing the evacuation of half a million residents in Hanoi alone. Each storm leaves its mark, both physically and psychologically, on a population that has grown all too accustomed to nature’s extremes.
As Bualoi moved inland and weakened over Laos, the cleanup began. Communities braced for days of continued rain and the long process of restoring power, clearing debris, and accounting for the missing. The storm’s impact was a sobering reminder of Vietnam’s place on the front lines of climate-driven disasters—a reality that demands vigilance, resilience, and, above all, hope for calmer days ahead.