Mekong Delta Flooding in 2000

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Mekong River 2000 Flooding
Mekong River 2000 Flooding
This is provided as a service of the USCINCPAC
Virtual Information Center (VIC), the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC), and the
Center Of Excellence (COE) for Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance
Prepared on: on 08 September 2000
Last Updated: On 15 September 2000
1
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Mekong River 2000 Flooding
Mekong River 2000 Flooding
Executive Summary
1. Assessment: This years Mekong River floods are the worst in 40 years. In Vietnam,
floods in the Mekong Delta have affected more than 376,300 homes; 13 people have been
killed thus far; and thousands of hectares of rice crops have been destroyed. In Cambodia,
over 600,000 people have been affected; at least 94 people have been killed; large areas of
farmland have also been destroyed; and rising waters threaten to submerge Phnom Penh.
Mekong River tributaries in Vietnam have been steadily rising about 1.5 inches per day;
water levels in the Tien and Hau Rivers are now higher than the peak water levels in the
historic 1978 floods. Cambodia put its capital Phnom Penh, home to more than a million
people, on alert on 13 Sept as weather forecasters warned the Mekong River could flood the
city within a few days.
2. Background: Following the southwest monsoon rains in mid-July, much earlier than
normal, the usual Mekong flood season has started. In Vietnam, more than 12,000 soldiers
have been helping local people to harvest rice and reinforce embankments, but authorities
fear the severe floods could lead to food shortages and disease. Ten of thousands of

Vietnamese are being evacuated from the Provinces of Dong Thap, An Giang and Long An.
In Cambodia, more than 2,000 police have been called in to help prevent serious flooding on
the outskirts of Phnom Penh, as waters continue to rise. Riverbanks in and around the capital
are being fortified with sandbags and some outer areas of the capital have already been
flooded. A state of emergency has been declared in the Cambodian capital and in the
Provinces of Stung Treng, Kratie and Kompong Cham along the Mekong River. Phnom Penh
has requested international assistance and is receiving aid from UN agencies and the Red
Cross. The Vietnamese government granted VND 32 billion (about 23 million USD) in flood
relief to the four worst hit provinces in the Mekong Delta, and the Viet Nam Red Cross
(VNRC) is distributing emergency aid. The International Red Cross (IRC) and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have launched
emergency aid appeals for Vietnamese and Cambodian flood victims.
3. Discussion: The Mekong River, the 10th longest in the world, flows by about 50 million
people in six nations. The Mekong River begins its path in the forested mountains and
uplands of southwestern China and flows 4,200 kilometers to the South China Sea passing
through Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In Southwest China, it’s called the
Lancang Jiang (Turbulent River). In Thailand and Laos, it’s called the Mae Nam Khong
(Mother of Waters). In Cambodia, it’s called the Tonle Thom (Great Water). And in Vietnam,
where it spills into the South China Sea (called the East Sea in Vietnam), it’s called the Cuu
Long (River of Nine Dragons).
4. Prepared on: 15 September 2000
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Mekong River 2000 Flooding
Mekong River 2000 Flooding
Table of Contents
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT 4

Vietnam 4
Cambodia 6
DEATH TOLL 10
Vietnam 10
Cambodia 11
FORECAST 13
Vietnam 13
Cambodia 16
RELIEF EFFORTS 19
Vietnam 19
Cambodia 21
INTERNATIONAL AID 22
Vietnam 22
List of Humanitarian Agencies in Vietnam 23
Cambodia 37
List of Humanitarian Agencies in Cambodia 38
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Mekong River 2000 Flooding
Mekong River 2000 Flooding
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
Vietnam
9/15/00 – Record flooding in southern Vietnam has transformed rice paddies and rural
communities into "desolate lakes," the Red Cross said Friday. Hundreds of families are living in
makeshift shanties crammed onto earthen dikes or along rural roads the only "high ground" for
miles around, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Vietnam
said in a report. "As far as the eye can see, all you see are the roofs of houses and eucalyptus

trees," said John Geoghegan, head of the relief group in Vietnam, who made surveying trips
earlier this week. "From time to time, you come across dikes with 200-300 families living on
them, slowly crumbling." In Vietnam, steadily rising floodwaters in the Mekong Delta have
forced more than 25,000 families from their homes, leaving them with a critical shortage of food,
water and shelter, government officials and relief workers said Friday. Officials from the
provinces of An Giang, Long An and Dong Thap said 184,000 homes have been flooded.

9/15/00 - The fast rising floodwaters have rendered the halt of operations by 370 schools in Dong
Thap Province. By Sept. 13, nearly 30,200 houses in the province had been submerged and
12,065 families had to move to higher places. More than 11,400 families are in need of food
supplies. />9/14/00 - Flood Hit Mekong Delta
Photo the Phu Cuong Primary School in Tam Nong district submerged by the flood.
/>9/14/00 - The natural disaster totally damaged 8,000 ha of rice and caused a drop of up to 40
percent in rice yields to more than 27,000 other hectares.
/>9/13/00 - Domestic emergency aid has begun to arrive at An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An,
provinces hardest hit by the flooding of the Cuu Long (Mekong Delta). The Long An province
alone has 376,300 homes affected by flooding. Of them, 11,000 were evacuated to safe place,
and 8,000 others are moving. The local administration has supplied 10,000 tons of rice and
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fishing gear to help people in upper-reach areas heavily hit by flooding overcome the aftermath.
An estimated 4,200 poor local families have been reportedly affected by food crop failure and
are in need of assistance. The province reported losses of more than VND 108 billion (USD 7.2
million), mostly crop losses. The Vietnam Red Cross Association has sent VND 330 million as
relief aid to flood-stricken areas. />9/13/00 - Flood Hit Mekong Delta

Photo Houses An Tam Nong township, Dong Thap provinces submerged by the flood.
/> />Photo Houses an Hong Ngu township, Dong Thap provinces submerged by the flood.

/>9/11/00 - It is feared that significant floods in Cambodia and Laos could
mean water levels in southern Vietnam will rise to dangerously high
levels. The Vietnamese official news agency said that it is forecast that
some rivers will be higher than they were in 1978 when major floods
caused huge damage and killed hundreds of people. Western aid officials
say that considerable development work has taken place in the Mekong
Delta since then and it is not yet clear how much damage high waters
levels would do. Thousands of families have already been evacuated
from their homes as a precautionary measure.
/>pacific/newsid_919000/919808.stm
9/8/00 – Floods in Vietnam's Mekong Delta have inundated the homes
of more than 28,500 people, forcing evacuation, official media reported
on Friday. Flooding in the Delta Province of An Giang on the border with Cambodia.
Neighboring Long An and Dong Thap Provinces had also been hit.
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/>template=qm&summary=off&type=word&query=cambodia&uid=968437065156
9/8/00 - Floods, storms and whirlwinds that have swept An Giang Province since Aug. 24 have
flattened or damaged nearly 1,650 houses. Meanwhile, floods in Long An Province have
completely ruined 14,000 ha of summer-autumn rice and halted the studies of 30,000 pupils. A
shower and accompanying whirlwind in Chau Thanh district of Tra Vinh southern province
destroyed 36 houses and five classrooms on Sept. 5.
/>9/8/00 - On September 4, flood waters swept away a bridge spanning Thống Nhất Canal on the
section of Highway 30 linking Hồng Ngự District and Tân Hồng District. In Đồng Tháp
Province, many sections of road have been under water for three days. These include the section
linking the districts of Tam Nông and Tân Hồng, the Highway 30 section from Sa Rài
Township to Dinh Bà Border Gate and many other inter-commune roads.
/>8/1/00 – Disaster relief officials in Vietnam say flooding in the Mekong Delta, in the country's

important southern rice-growing region, is the worst in forty years. At least three people have
been killed and thousands of hectares of rice crops have been destroyed by the floods, and
weather forecasts indicate water levels could rise even further in the next ten days.
/>Cambodia

Flood Waters Threaten Cambodian Capital
/> />9/15/00 - An earlier report from the country's official disaster team said 1.2 million people in 13
provinces have been affected, with nearly 30,000 people evacuated and 99,000 homes flooded,
including 1,700 that had been destroyed. The report, dated Thursday, said 94 people had died
since July because of flooding. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
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Societies in Cambodia estimated Thursday that 500,000 people "are in need of emergency
assistance, including clothing, food, sheets of plastic and blankets."
9/14/00 - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen appealed for help on Thursday as he visited the
affected areas. He said it was the most serious flood in more than 70 years.
/>9/13/00 - The government had distributed more than 350,000 sandbags in Phnom Penh and the
surrounding provinces and had another one million ready for distribution. Heavy rains have
caused widespread floods across Cambodia since July, nearly two months earlier than they
usually do. The floods have already affected more than 600,000 people, said Peou Samy,
secretary-general of the National Committee on Disaster Management. He said damage to crops
alone has been estimated at $10 million. />9/11/00 - Damage by this year's floods to crops alone has been estimated at $10 million. This
figure excluded any figure for the extensive damage to Cambodia's infrastructure such as roads
and houses. Cambodia usually experiences fairly widespread flooding during the annual rainy
season in August and September, but flooding started in early July this year and has been far
more extensive than normal. />9/8/00 - Almost half a million people are reported to have been affected by the flooding. Large
areas of farmland have also been destroyed. />pacific/newsid_916000/916170.stm
/>9/3/00 - The Mekong river flowed above flood warning level in the northern provinces of Stung

Treng, Kratie and Kompong Cham, which have declared a state of emergency. In the
Municipality of Phnom Penh the water level rose to 10.62 m, 12 cm above warning level. It is
feared that if the water level reaches 11.2 m, some areas of Phnom Penh will be put under water.
The Cambodian National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) reports that the current
flooding is expected to have a serious impact in other provinces, especially Takeo province,
though the National Government has not declared a state of emergency at this stage.

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9/5/00 - The NCDM reports the following impact of the recent floods in 5 provinces:
Province Affected Affected Crops
districts families destroyed
(ha)
Stung Treng N/A 360 370
Kompong Cham 11 N/A 2,704
Prey Veng 1 (Peam Ror) 1,853 N/A
Takeo N/A 1,539 9,074
Kandal 1 (Koki Thom) 700 N/A
TOTAL 13 4,452 12,148
In addition, the media report that, in Oddar Meanchey Province, the flooding has caused damage
to over 380 houses, the road network and bridges as well as losses of livestock and crops.

/>7/26/00 - Flooding has left thousands homeless and destroyed or damaged thousands of hectares
(acres) of crops. Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) figures show that nearly 350,000 people live in
the flooded areas, which cover nine of Cambodia's 24 provinces, while more than 10,000
hectares (25,000 acres) of rice and other crops have been destroyed or damaged. Provinces in
neighboring Vietnam's rice bowl Mekong Delta are also struggling with the worst flooding in
years. />8

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9
Flood Areas
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DEATH TOLL
Vietnam
9/15/00 - On Friday, authorities in An Giang reported the deaths of five children aged from three
to seven years old, bringing the toll in the past week in the three provinces to 13.
9/15/00 - The Red Cross said on Friday it was appealing for fresh emergency aid for Vietnam,
where the worst floods in decades have killed at least 13 people and driven up to 150,000 from
their homes. Officials say nearly half of the three provinces are submerged, with water levels
above or approaching those of 1996, when floods killed 217 people, 162 of them children.

9/13/00 - At least eight people are reported to have died in the worst flooding for many years.
Western aid officials say the situation is bad and deteriorating. More water is expected to flow
into the Mekong Delta from Cambodia in the coming hours and days. State television has shown
people sheltering on dykes which themselves are in danger of collapsing. Elsewhere, rescue
teams have used boats to pluck stranded villagers from houses built on stilts.
/>9/13/00 - The natural disaster claimed six lives, totally damaged 8,000 ha of rice and caused a
drop of up to 40 percent in rice yields to more than 27,000 other hectares. The local authorities
have helped more than 500 families in flooded areas move to higher places and provided food to
the evacuees and another 4,248 needy families. The province has received more than VND 700
million in aid from other localities. However, more than 2,600 families are in need of funding for
evacuation and nearly 11,500 others are hungry for food supplies.
/>9/8/00 – The Vietnam News Agency said one person had been killed and 65 injured by flooding,

storms or whirlwinds since August 24 in the Delta Province of An Giang on the border with
Cambodia. Neighboring Long An and Dong Thap Provinces had also been hit, it said.
/>template=qm&summary=off&type=word&query=cambodia&uid=968437065156
9/8/00 - Floods, storms and whirlwinds that have swept An Giang Province since Aug. 24 have
killed one person, injured 65 others. />FileN=frav0809.005
8/1/00 – Disaster relief officials in Vietnam say flooding in the Mekong Delta, in the country's
important southern rice-growing region, is the worst in forty years. At least three people have
been killed. The worst affected provinces are Dong Thap, An Giang and Kien Giang. Authorities
say they fear the floods could lead to food shortages and disease.
/>10
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Cambodia
9/15/00 - An earlier report from the country's official disaster team said 1.2 million people in 13
provinces have been affected, with nearly 30,000 people evacuated and 99,000 homes flooded,
including 1,700 that had been destroyed. The report, dated Thursday, said 94 people had died
since July because of flooding.
9/14/00 – DEATH TOLL - By September 14, 78 people were reported dead from flooding in
Cambodia and thousands of hectares of farm land has been inundated. Peou Samy, Secretary
General of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCPM), said most victims had
drowned after their boats overturned or their houses collapsed. Some victims were killed by
snakebite after the snakes fled to higher ground. By Thursday, September14, the official
provincial death tolls were: Stung Treng one, Kratie five, Kampong Cham, 27, Prey Veng, 19.
Kandal 17, Takeo seven, and Koh Kong one. Cheang Am, Governor of Kampong Cham, said the
death toll of 27 for his province did not include 12 who were drowned in mid July.
/>9/13/00 - The number of flood-related deaths in Cambodia rose to 82 on Wednesday, almost half
the number in 1996, when 169 people died during the most devastating rainy season in memory.
/>9/11/00 - Cambodia, facing its worst flooding for several years, said on Monday the number of
flood-related deaths this year could surpass that of 1996, the most devastating year in memory.

The death toll this year has already reached 73, compared to 169 in 1996, with two months left
before the rains dry up, Peou Samy, secretary-general of the National Committee on Disaster
Management, told Reuters. "If the rain keeps falling and the waters keep rising, this year will be
worse than 1996," he said. />9/11/00 - Cambodia, facing its worst flooding for several years, said on Monday the number of
flood-related deaths this year could surpass that of 1996, the most devastating year in memory.
The death toll this year has already reached 73, compared to 169 in 1996, with two months left
before the rains dry up, Peou Samy, secretary-general of the National Committee on Disaster
Management, told Reuters. "If the rain keeps falling and the waters keep rising, this year will be
worse than 1996," he said. />9/8/00 - A total of 51 people have been killed so far, most of them children.
/>11
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9/7/00 - Cambodia Says Floods Kill 52 so Far this Year - Flood waters wreaking havoc across
much of the Cambodian countryside have claimed 52 lives so far this year, the government said
on Thursday. "The floods from July until now bring the number of total deaths to 52, most of
which are children," Peou Samy, secretary-general of the National Committee on Disaster
Management, told Reuters. />template=qm&summary=off&type=word&query=cambodia&uid=968437065156
9/5/00 - The Cambodian National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) reported the
following death toll from the recent floods in 5 provinces:
Province People killed
Stung Treng -
Kompong Cham 3
Prey Veng 6
Takeo 7
Kandal -
TOTAL 16

7/26/00 - Flooding has caused at least 10 deaths. />12
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FORECAST
Vietnam
The Mekong River tributaries in Vietnam have been steadily rising about 1.5 inches per day. As
you can see from the chart below these estuaries have risen a foot (12 inches) this past week.
Actual and
Forecasted
Water Levels
Tan Chau Station
on Tien River
(Meters)
Tan Chau Station
on Tien River
(Feet)
Chau Doc
Station on Hau
River (Meters)
Chau Doc Station
on Hau River
(Feet)
Thurs, 9/7/00 4.57 14.99 4.24 13.91
Fri, 9/8/00 4.63 15.19 4.29 14.07
Sat, 9/9/00
Sun, 9/10/00 4.69 15.39 4.37 14.34
Mon, 9/11/00
Tues, 9/12/00 4.70 15.42 4.40 14.44
Wed, 9/13/00
Thurs, 9/14/00 4.83 15.85 4.58 15.03
Fri, 9/15/00 4.85 15.91 4.55 14.93

Note: Third Warning Level is 4.2 m (13.78 ft) at Tan Chau and 3.5 m (11.48 ft) at Chau Doc.
Map of Flooding situation in the Mekong River Delta
(Vietnamese Provinces across Cambodian Border)
as of 9:00 AM on 27 July 2000
Prepared by UNDP Disaster Management Unit VIE/97/002
/>13
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9/15/00 - Weather forecasters say water levels in some areas have hit 16 feet the level of
floods in 1996 when nearly 200 people were killed. By the end of the month, it will likely
approach the historic flood level of 17.1 feet reached in 1961.
9/15/00 - Floods In Mekong Delta Become More Serious - Water levels in the middle and lower
parts of the Mekong River are rising fast and likely to become biggest floods in the region over
the past 40 years, according to the National Hydro-Meteorological Forecast Center. Water levels
in the Tien and Hau rivers, the two tributaries of the Mekong River, were measured at 4.83m in
Tan Chau station and 4.58m in Chau Doc station at 7 a.m on Sept. 14, higher than the peak in
1978 and equal to the 1996 level. Meanwhile, water levels in rivers and canals in the Dong Thap
Muoi (Plain of Reeds) and the Long Xuyen quadrangle continue rising and likely to reach the
highest levels of the 1996 floods. />FileN=frav1409.014
9/10/00 - In the Mekong delta, the water level reached 4.69 m (15.39 ft) at Tan Chau station on
the Tien river at 7am on Sept.10, and 4.37 m (14.34 ft) at Chau Doc station on the Hau river,
exceeding the third warning level by 0.49 m and 0.87 m, respectively. It is forecast that water
levels in the Tien and Hau rivers will reach 4.85 m (15.91 ft) at Tan Chau and 4.55 m (14.93 ft)
at Chau Doc on Sept. 15, higher than the peak water levels in the historic 1978 floods, and equal
to the 1996 floods. />9/8/00 – The government has warned that flood waters in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam's rice
bowl, could reach their highest levels since disastrous floods 22 years ago in the next few days.
A meteorologist in An Giang said water levels of the Tien river were 4.63 meter (15.19 ft) on
Friday morning while levels on the Hau river had reached 4.29 meters (14.07 ft). Thursday's
measurements were 4.57 meters (14.99 ft) and 4.24 meters (13.91 ft) respectively and already

higher than "alarm level three," which is declared when low lying areas are submerged, river
dyke systems in jeopardy and infrastructure in danger of damage. The Tien and Hau rivers are
branches of the giant Mekong, which runs through An Giang province from Cambodia.
/>template=qm&summary=off&type=word&query=cambodia&uid=968437065156
9/8/00 - The Vietnamese National Hydro-meteorology Forecast Center (NHFC) has warned
Mekong Delta provinces to brace for heavy floods as water levels in the Tien and Hau tributaries
of the Mekong River continue to rise quickly, having already passed the designated danger
mark. At 7am on Thurs, Sept. 7, the water level reached 4.57 m (14.99 ft) at Tan Chau station on
the Tien River, and 4.24 m (13.91 ft) at Chau Doc station on the Hau River, exceeding the third
warning level (which is 4.2 m (13.78 ft) at Tan Chau and 3.5 m (11.48 ft) at Chau Doc) and the
peak water levels of the 1994 storm season. The NHFC forecast that water levels in the upstream
Tien and Hau Rivers will reach 4.7 m and 4.4 m (0.5 m and 0.9 m above the third warning level),
respectively, on Sept. 12 and will continue rising. Mekong delta provinces have been warned
that floods may reach the same levels as the 1978 and 1996 floods.
/>14
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Annually, during the flood season, mainstream water levels rise and flood waters enter canals or
flow over embankments flooding large areas of the Mekong Delta. The map below shows an
example of the range of flood levels in the Lower Mekong Basin in Cambodia and Vietnam.
/>15
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Cambodia
ONC K-10 />9/14/00 - The Mekong's waters approached 11 meters (33 feet) high in the capital on Thursday.
Peou Samy, secretary general for the National Committee for Disaster Management, said: "We
have decided to sacrifice the rice crops in that area in order to save Phnom Penh." "The water
level is forecast to reach 11.44 meters next week I appeal to the international community to

assist the Cambodian Government because we have tried everything we can think of."
/>9/14/00 – Floods that have been devastating Southeast Asia are predicted to get worse in the next
few days, and Phnom Penh is threatened with inundation. Now there are predictions that the
water levels will continue to rise and even breach the flood protection dikes that protect Phnom
Penh. The Phnom Penh municipality has ordered all district authorities to have their staff on
standby for flood prevention work. As the Post went to press, the river is just over 11 meters.
Phnom Penh city starts to flood when the river reaches 11.2 meters. The water resource and
meteorology ministry predicts that by Saturday, September 16, the Mekong and Tonle Sap will
reach 11.12 meters at Phnom Penh. />9/14/00 - Cheang Am, Governor of Kampong Cham said the dike protecting the Kampong Cham
town broke on Wednesday, flooding urban areas. He is now concerned that a further rise in water
level will see all of the town under water. />
9/14/00 - Ngo Pin, Secretary of State for Water Resources and Meteorology, said the dikes
around Phnom Penh are being monitored 24 hours a day. He said if the water level reaches 11.2
meters Phnom Penh might not be too badly affected but authorities were concerned that it could
16
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coincide with heavy rain, which would be disastrous. He said he was most worried about areas
near the Naga casino, Svay Pak and around the Russian Embassy. Ve Cheng, deputy director of
Phnom Penh Water Resource and Meteorology department and the Phnom Penh dike, said if the
water level at Kob Srov came up to 10.3 m he would build a small retaining wall on the top of it
which he hoped would protect Phnom Penh by an additional half meter.
/>9/13/00 - Cambodia put its capital Phnom Penh, home to more than a million people, on alert on
Wednesday as weather forecasters warned the Mekong river could flood the city within the next
two or three days. “According to our weather forecasts, Phnom Penh will be flooded on
September 16 if the rain keeps falling,” Y Kyheang, secretary of state for the ministry of
meteorology and water resources, told Reuters. “The level of water in Phnom Penh now is 11.03
cm and Phnom Penh will flood when the water level reaches 11.2 cm,” he said, explaining that
rains north of Cambodia in Laos and Vietnam would flood areas along the lower Mekong.

“There is still more than a month (of rains) to go,” said Y Kyheang. Heavy rains have caused
widespread floods across Cambodia since July, nearly two months earlier than they usually do.
/>9/8/00 - The deputy governor of Phnom Penh says the city will be inundated if the Mekong
River, which flows close to the city, rises by more than 20 centimeters (eight inches). Officials
say the flooding, which began with unusually heavy monsoon rains in late July, is the worst to
hit Cambodia in 40 years.
/>17
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/>18
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RELIEF EFFORTS
Vietnam
9/14/00 - The Government would grant VND 32 billion (roughly
USD 23 million) as flood relief to four worst hit provinces in the
Mekong Delta. Of the amount, Dong Thap and Long An provinces
will receive VND 10 billion each, meanwhile Kien Giang province
will be given VND 5 billion and An Giang province VND 7 billion.
Floods in the last two months caused damages estimated at VND 150
billion in Dong Thap Province.
/>9/13/00 – Flood Hit Mekong Delta
Photo Residents at Hong Ngu township in Dong Thap moved to safety place.
/>9/13/00 - The Government would grant VND 32 billion (roughly USD 23 million) as flood relief
to four worst hit provinces in the Mekong Delta, announced Permanent Deputy Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dzung during his just-concluded inspection trip. Of the amount, Dong Thap and
Long An provinces will receive VND 10 billion each, meanwhile Kien Giang province will be
given VND 5 billion and An Giang province VND 7 billion. The Deputy PM was in Dong Thap

province on late Sept. 11 and early Sept. 12 as the third leg of his trip to flood-stricken areas,
which was wrapped up late Sept. 12 with his stop in Long An province. Like in other provinces,
he urged Dong Thap authorities to take immediate measures to move residents in submerged
areas to safe places, take care of small children and pregnant mothers, and try to prevent
epidemics from out-break. Floods in the last two months caused damages estimated at VND 150
billion in Dong Thap province. The natural disaster claimed six lives, totally damaged 8,000 ha
of rice and caused a drop of up to 40 percent in rice yields to more than 27,000 other hectares.
The local authorities have helped more than 500 families in flooded areas move to higher places
and provided food to the evacuees and another 4,248 needy families. The province has received
more than VND 700 million in aid from other localities. However, more than 2,600 families are
in need of funding for evacuation and nearly 11,500 others are hungry for food supplies.
/>9/13/00 - Authorities in flood-stricken areas should spare no efforts to ensure that none of their
residents has to lie on the ground in open air, and that no one would be left hungry or killed by
epidemics due to lack of medical treatment, stressed Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen
19
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authors involved and not the opinions, assessments or positions of HQ USCINCPAC, DoD or any other government
agency or entity.
Tan Dzung. Dzung also urged the administration of Long An province in the south to consider
both immediate and long-term measures to minimize flood damages, especially to help more
than 70,000 residents in the low-land Plain of Reeds to live together with flooding, during his
inspection trip to the province on Sept. 12. The province has 376,300 homes affected by
flooding. Of them, 11,000 were evacuated to safe place, and 8,000 others are moving. The local
administration has supplied 10,000 tons of rice and fishing gear to help people in upper-reach
areas heavily hit by flooding overcome the aftermath. An estimated 4,200 poor local families
have been reportedly affected by food crop failure and are in need of assistance. The province
reported losses of more than VND 108 billion (USD 7.2 million), mostly crop losses. Flooding
has swept over some other provinces. The central province of Ninh Binh has reported 12,886 ha
of food crops to be inundated. For flood and storm relief, individuals and organizations across
the country have extended generous assistance. Nguyen Minh Triet, Politburo member of the

Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party
Committee, has transferred VND 200 million from the municipal Natural Disasters Control Fund
to authorities in flood-hit Dong Thap province in the south. By the end of August, Dong Thap
had reportedly received more than VND 500 million in cash and in kind as donations from kind-
hearted individuals and organizations nationwide. The Public Security Ministry has sent over
VND 100 million to whirlwinds victims in southern Tra Vinh province. The Viet Nam Red Cross
(VNRC) has disbursed VND 90 million for the purchase of rice and daily necessities as
emergency aid to people in the central coastal provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh,
which were hardly hit by storm Wukong. The humanitarian organization has also sent VND 180
million in aid to flood victims in An Giang, Dong Thap and Long An provinces, bringing its total
flood relief aid to the Mekong Delta to VND 330 million. Another flood affected province
outside the Mekong Delta, Quang Ngai in the central coast, has benefited from VNRC's aid of
VND 20 million.
/>9/11/00 - Tens of thousands of people are still being evacuated in the flood-stricken southern
delta provinces of Dong Thap, An Giang and Long An. Water levels there continue to approach
the height of the 1996 flood levels that killed 150 people, officials said. In Dong Thap, 17,200
people have already left their homes. About 30,000 people are currently being evacuated. In
neighboring Long An, nearly 10,000 people have been evacuated from flooded homes and
another 15,000 people are in the process of being evacuated. Some 5,790 more are being moved
in An Giang province.
/>template=nmDet&hd=0&sname=World&sbc_id=41&art_id=6000776&uid=968698476431
9/8/00 - The Vietnamese government has developed plans to move residents from vulnerable
areas to safe places and to combat big floods. Needy households numbered 2,500 in Dong Thap
Province, 1,800 in An Giang Province and 5,000 in Long An Province.
/>9/8/00 - Over the past week, thousands of people in the provinces of Đồng Tháp, An Giang
and Long An have been evacuated to safe areas. Đồng Tháùp has now evacuated 1,500 of
2,500 households threatened by floods in the districts of Tân Hồng, Hồng Ngự, Tam Nông
and Thanh Bình. In an attempt to protect rice fields and crops, Cửu Long River provinces are
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This is product of the USCINCPAC Virtual Information Center (VIC). As such it represents the opinions of the various

authors involved and not the opinions, assessments or positions of HQ USCINCPAC, DoD or any other government
agency or entity.
rushing to upgrade and strengthen coastal dikes and embankments. Tiền Giang Province is now
carrying out a project to build major dykes and improve small ones to protect its 7,000 ha of rice
fields at a cost of VNĐ 2.4 billion. Sông Hậu State-run farm in Cần Thơ is building an
irrigation network worth VNĐ 3.5 billion in Ô Môn District to protect 14,000ha of rice and
other crops. Sóc Trăng province is also strengthening 50km of vital river dykes to protect more
than 10,000ha of rice. The province plans to spend about VNĐ 20 billion over the next five years
on consolidating field embankments. />09/07/Stories/06.htm
8/1/00 – Disaster relief officials in Vietnam say flooding in the Mekong Delta, in the country's
important southern rice-growing region, is the worst in forty years. Vietnam is accustomed to
flooding, but this year's heavy rains have come early, before farmers had finished harvesting the
current crop. The worst affected provinces are Dong Thap, An Giang and Kien Giang. More than
twelve-thousand soldiers have been helping local people to harvest rice and reinforce
embankments, but authorities say they fear the floods could lead to food shortages and disease.
/>Cambodia
9/13/00 - Cambodia put its capital Phnom Penh, home to more than a million people, on alert on
Wednesday as weather forecasters warned the Mekong river could flood the city within the next
two or three days. The government had distributed more than 350,000 sandbags in Phnom Penh
and the surrounding provinces and had another one million ready for distribution.
/>9/8/00 - Police have been drafted in to lay sandbags near the capital
(photo left). More than 2,000 police have been called in to help prevent
serious flooding on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital, Phnom
Penh, as waters continue to rise. Riverbanks in and around the capital
are being fortified with sandbags and some outer areas of the capital
have already been flooded. A state of emergency has been declared in
the capital and in the Provinces of Stung Treng, Kratie and Kompong
Cham along the Mekong River. Government flood warnings have been
broadcast on TV and radio stations since Monday.
/>pacific/newsid_916000/916170.stm

The Cambodian National Committee for
Disaster Management (NCDM), in concert
with the MWRM and the Ministry of
Agriculture, has used its existing resources,
such as rice, karma (scarf), tent sheets for
shelter, fuel and sandbags, to assist the local
authorities in their efforts to strengthen
infrastructure and provide relief to the
vulnerable population in the Municipality of
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authors involved and not the opinions, assessments or positions of HQ USCINCPAC, DoD or any other government
agency or entity.
Phnom Penh and provinces of Takeo, Kompong Thom, Kampot, Kandal, Prey Veng, Stung
Treng, Kratie and Kompong Cham.
The NCDM is working in close cooperation with the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC), based on a
Memorandum of Understanding signed on 2 August. In the last two months, CRC has distributed
around 400 tons of rice to the affected population and plans to distribute a further 125 tons in the
first half of September.
INTERNATIONAL AID
Vietnam
9/15/00 - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has
called for emergency aid to flood victims in the central province of Ha Tinh and a number of
Mekong Delta provinces. The IFRC called upon people within three months to raise USD
388,764 in cash, commodities and services to help 60,000 people in the flooded areas. Storm
Wukong hit Ha Tinh province on Sept. 10, pulling down 1,500 houses, unroofing almost 20,000
others, damaging hundreds of schools and 16,000 ha of rice. Meanwhile, many communes in the
Mekong delta have been seriously stricken by floods.
/>9/15/00 - The Red Cross is to launch a new appeal for emergency aid to help the victims of
heavy flooding in Vietnam. A Red Cross spokesman John Geoghegan described the situation as

a humanitarian disaster that was still worsening. He said the Red Cross would be meeting donors
in a bid to get up to one-point-five million dollars to supplement Vietnamese government relief
efforts. The Red Cross said it needs to provide rice, boats and mosquito nets, as well as plastic
sheeting for emergency shelters to help up to half a million more people who are under threat in
the Mekong delta. />pacific/newsid_926000/926279.stm
9/15/00 - To help flood victims overcome the aftermath, the Viet Nam Red Cross has called
upon its chapters and members and volunteers nationwide to contribute funds and goods as
relief. A delegation of Ho Chi Minh City has transferred VND 560 million (USD 40,000) from
the municipal Natural Disaster Control Fund to the flood-hit provinces of Dong Thap, Long An,
Tien Giang, An Giang and Tra Vinh. />FileN=frav1409.014
9/13/00 - The International Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to help tens of
thousands of Vietnamese forced to flee their homes because of severe flooding. At least eight
people are reported to have died in the worst flooding for many years. Western aid officials say
the situation is bad and deteriorating. More water is expected to flow into the Mekong Delta
from Cambodia in the coming hours and days. State television has shown people sheltering on
dykes which themselves are in danger of collapsing. Elsewhere, rescue teams have used boats to
22
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authors involved and not the opinions, assessments or positions of HQ USCINCPAC, DoD or any other government
agency or entity.
pluck stranded villagers from houses built on stilts. />pacific/newsid_923000/923219.stm
List of Humanitarian Agencies in Vietnam
ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Web site address: www.aed.org
The Academy manages and operates its domestic and international programs through three main
program divisions: social development, education and exchange services, and human resources
and institutional development. The Academy also operates the National Demonstration
Laboratory for Interactive Information Technologies.
Contact information
HQ Office

1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20009-5721
Phone: 202-884-8000
Fax: 202-884-8400
E-Mail:
Contact information - specific programs,
Mary Maguire, Vice President and Director of Communications,
202- 884-8631.
ADVENTIST DEVELOPMENT AND RELIEF AGENCY INTERNATIONAL (ADRA)
Website: />ADRA is a humanitarian agency of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church working to improve the
quality of life for people in developing countries through community development programs. It
also provides immediate relief to disaster victims. Currently ADRA is working with USAID
under the PL480 project to deliver food to the most vulnerable groups in Indonesia.
Contact Information
HQ Office
ADRA International
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Phone: (301) 680-6380
Fax: (301) 680-6370
Email:
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE (AFSC)
Website: />AFSC was founded in 1917as a nonprofit organization to uphold the principle of meeting human
needs without regard to politics, religion or nationality. It promotes self-help and independence
and the improvement of people’s physical, economic and social well being, out of Quaker
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authors involved and not the opinions, assessments or positions of HQ USCINCPAC, DoD or any other government
agency or entity.
concern for reconciliation and the relief of suffering. It participates in rural and urban

development projects geared toward the principle of self-help and empowerment and training for
community workers, with a growing focus on the role of women. It also assists in improvement
of water and sanitation systems, schools, housing and clinic construction and rehabilitation and
well digging as components of broader community development projects. AFSC works with
local people in developing new crops and agricultural methods, as well as in animal husbandry
and gardening projects. It supports agricultural education and training. AFSC encourages and
supports nutrition and health education, and some feeding programs; helps maintain medical
facilities in post war areas; and assists in physical rehabilitation programs.
Senior Staff/Management
Contact Information
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Phone: 215-241-7150
Fax: 215-241-7026
Email :
Web site address: www.afsc.org
AMERICAN RED CROSS INTERNATIONAL SERVICES
Website: />The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers and guided by its
Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement,
will provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to
emergencies.
Contact Information
American Red Cross
Attn: Public Inquiry
Office
11th Floor
1621 N. Kent Street
Arlington, VA 22209
Telephone: 703-248-4222
AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR OVERSEAS AID (ACFOA)

Website: />ACFOA is the coordinating body for 80 Australian non-government organisations working in the
field of overseas aid and development. The ACFOA was created in 1965 to "create a vehicle to
enable government to relate to the NGO community more easily".
Contact Information
HQ Office
ACFOA House
14 Napier Close
Deakin, ACT 2600
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authors involved and not the opinions, assessments or positions of HQ USCINCPAC, DoD or any other government
agency or entity.
Phone: (02) 6285-1816
Fax: (02) 6285-1720
Email:
CARE INTERNATIONAL
Website:
CARE, founded in the aftermath of World War II is one of the world's largest international relief
and development organizations and has became a leader in self-help development and food aid.
CARE International worked in Vietnam from 1954 to 1975 in relief food and medicines),
vocational training and medical programs. CARE returned to Vietnam in May 1990 and received
official government recognition in April 1991. CARE Vietnam has worked in 19 provinces in
agriculture and natural resources development, small enterprise development, communication for
health and emergency assistance. The CARE Vietnam lead member is CARE Australia.
Contact Information
HQ Office
CARE International Secretariat
Boulevard du Regent, 58/10
B-1000 Brussels
Belgium

Phone: 32-2-502-43-33
Email:
USA Office
CARE
151 Ellis Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 681-2552
Fax: (404) 577-5977
Email:
Regional Office
CARE Australia
Website:
GPO Box 2014
Canberra, ACT 2601
Australia
Phone: 61-6-257-4022
Email:
CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES (CRS)
Website: />Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to
provide humanitarian assist to the needy around the world. CRS provides direct aid to the poor,
and has self help programs. CRS first worked in Vietnam from 1951 to 1975 distributing
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