2020 Central Vietnam floods

2020 Central Vietnam floods
	Floods over Hương River in central Huế on 10 October 2020
Date	5 October 2020 – 21 November 2020; (1 month, 2 weeks, 2 days)
Location	Central Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
Cause	Monsoon season and 9 tropical cyclones Unnamed tropical depression: 5 October – 8 October; ; Tropical Storm Linfa: 9 October – 12 October; ; Tropical Storm Nangka: 11 October – 16 October; Tropical Depression Ofel: 13 October – 18 October; Typhoon Saudel: 24 October – 26 October; Typhoon Molave: 27 October – 29 October; Typhoon Goni: 5 November – 7 November; Tropical Storm Etau: 9 November – 11 November; Typhoon Vamco: 14 November – 16 November;
Deaths	189 deaths, 60 missing (in Vietnam, as of 15 November); 44 deaths (in Cambodia)
Property damage	đ35.8 trillion (US$1.57 billion)

The 2020 Central Vietnam floods were a series of floods in Central Vietnam, which also affected some areas in Cambodia and Laos in October and early November 2020. The floods focused heavily in several provinces including Thừa Thiên Huế, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, and Quảng Ngãi. The floods were mainly caused by the seasonal monsoon, with additional impact from multiple tropical cyclones.

Beginning on 7 October, amid seasonal monsoon conditions and tropical depressions over Khánh Hòa province, a series of tropical cyclones during the 2020 Pacific typhoon season, including Linfa, Nangka, Ofel, Saudel, and Molave, affected Northern and Central Vietnam, as well as parts of Laos and Cambodia. The storms brought strong winds and excessive rainfall to the affected regions, with precipitation peaking at 3,245 mm (127.76 inches) in Hướng Linh, Hướng Hóa District, Quảng Trị around 20 October. In response to the severe flooding, Vietnam issued a Category IV disaster alert for heavy rainfall—the first time this highest-level warning had ever been declared, surpassing the previous maximum of Category III.

On 5 November, the weakening Typhoon Goni entered the South China Sea and made landfall in Central Vietnam the day after as a tropical depression. On 10 November, Tropical Storm Etau also made landfall in the same region. On 12 November, Typhoon Vamco entered the South China Sea, approaching Vietnam as it gradually strengthened into Category 4-equivalent strength after exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

As of 1 December, more than 243 people were reported dead or missing by the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA) as a result of the floods. The total economic damage the floods caused was nearly đ35.8 trillion (US$1.57 billion).