According to Le Chi Hoai, chairman of Hoa Thinh Commune, residents should rely on official updates to avoid unnecessary panic. He said local authorities were conducting rescue operations while assessing damage.
On the evening of November 21, multiple videos and posts circulated online alleging mass fatalities in Hoa Thinh Commune, including claims that dozens sheltering in a guesthouse had died. The rumours quickly caused public anxiety.
Rescue forces evacuate residents in flood-hit areas in Dak Lak Province on November 21. (Photo by Thanh Le)
According to the Dak Lak People’s Committee, the province had recorded 27 deaths, eight missing and two injured as of 8 pm on November 21. Officials described the disaster as one of the most severe floods in decades, surpassing the historic flood in 1993.
Around 150,000 homes were submerged and infrastructure across transport, healthcare and education was heavily damaged, with initial losses of about VND 1 trillion (approximately USD 38 million). Total preliminary damage has reached nearly VND 5.33 trillion, excluding household assets.
About 3.2 million livestock and poultry died, while 127,000 aquaculture cages and 1,000 hectares of shrimp and mollusc farms were destroyed.
More than 63,000 hectares of short-term crops and 19,000 hectares of perennial crops were damaged, alongside widespread landslides, road blockages and power and telecom disruptions.
The provincial People’s Committee said about 12,500 personnel and thousands of vehicles and equipment from the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and local forces had been deployed for rescue, evacuation and emergency support.