Vietnam hardest hit as Typhoon Bualoi kills over 30 across Southeast Asia

HANOI, Vietnam — The death toll from Storm Bualoi has risen to more than 30 people as heavy rains continue to lash Southeast Asia, with Vietnam reporting the highest number of casualties.

Vietnamese authorities confirmed 19 deaths and 21 people missing, marking Bualoi as the most destructive storm to strike the country this year. The storm made landfall in north-central Vietnam early last week, bringing powerful winds, high waves, and torrential downpours.

Persistent rain has heightened the risk of flooding and landslides across Vietnam's northern provinces. In the capital of Hanoi, floodwaters inundated city streets, prompting officials to warn residents near the Red River to take emergency precautions.

The storm’s impact has been felt across the region. In the Philippines, at least 11 people were killed last week, while Thailand’s national disaster agency reported flooding in 17 provinces.

Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said Bualoi has weakened to a tropical depression and is now moving toward Laos.

Climate experts noted that global warming is making such storms increasingly powerful and moisture-heavy, leading to more severe rainfall and destruction.

Typhoon Bualoi is increasingly viewed not as an isolated incident, but as a symptom of a destabilizing trend of extreme weather across Southeast Asia. The narrow intervals between major systems like Ragasa and Bualoi underscore a compounding challenge: regional economies are being afforded less time to recover before the next shock hits.

Vietnam remains at the epicenter of this vulnerability. Given its extensive coastline and high population density in low-lying areas, the reported casualties—19 dead and 21 missing—represent only the immediate fallout. The broader macroeconomic impact, characterized by the destruction of critical infrastructure and the erosion of agricultural productivity, threatens to hamper regional development for years to come.

Climate experts have linked the rising intensity of these storms to broader global warming patterns, suggesting that disaster risk management must evolve. Policy analysts argue that reactive post-disaster relief is no longer a sufficient safeguard. Instead, the crisis demands a pivot toward long-term strategic investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, including reinforced sea dykes, modernized urban drainage systems, and stricter building codes in high-risk corridors. As Vietnam stands on the front lines of the climate crisis, the government faces a stark reality: what were once considered "historic" weather events are rapidly becoming the new operational baseline.

Severe natural disasters like Typhoon Bualoi send shockwaves of anxiety through the Vietnamese-American community, particularly for those with loved ones in the Northern and Central provinces. In the wake of these storms, the conversation in Little Saigon and across nail salons and phở restaurants nationwide quickly shifts to the welfare of those back home. This concern almost immediately translates into action, triggering a significant surge in remittances as families wire funds to help relatives repair damaged homes and stabilize their lives. Beyond individual aid, community organizations across the U.S. frequently mobilize to launch coordinated fundraising campaigns, channeling the diaspora’s collective resources toward critical disaster relief and long-term recovery efforts in Vietnam.