Floods put unprecedented pressure on the transport system

TPO - According to the report of the Ministry of Construction, the prolonged rains and floods since mid-November have put unprecedented pressure on the transportation system in the South Central Coast and the Central Highlands. In just one week, hundreds of landslides occurred, the roadbed was washed away for kilometers, 16 stations were flooded... Forces had to mobilize nearly 1,000 workers, working overnight to restore the North-South traffic flow.

Báo Tiền Phong•26/11/2025

Preliminary estimates show that total damage to roads and railways alone has exceeded VND220 billion, not to mention the huge losses in people's livelihoods and property and the cost of maintaining the transport system during the disruption.

National highways managed by the central government suffered heavy damage: Hundreds of flooded spots, slopes collapsed, tens of thousands of cubic meters of earth and rock fell onto the road surface, and nearly 100,000 square meters of road surface were damaged. The total estimated cost of repair was up to 100 billion VND - a figure showing the huge level of destruction in a short period of time.

At the local level, Khanh Hoa and Lam Dong still have many bottlenecks, especially Mimosa Pass and D'ran Pass - where landslides swept away the entire roadbed, creating a 15m deep hole, completely cutting off National Highway 20. Some locations are still cracking and sinking, threatening traffic safety and requiring long-term reinforcement solutions.

Centrally managed national highways suffered heavy damage in the recent storms and floods. Photo: DRVN.

The Ministry of Construction had to activate an emergency mechanism, transfer spare materials, including 12,000 steel baskets, to localities to handle landslides; request units to review capital sources, prioritize funding to immediately fix vulnerable points.

Among the expressway projects being implemented in the South Central - Central Highlands, the two projects Quy Nhon - Chi Thanh and Chi Thanh - Van Phong were the most severely affected. Many items such as the operator's house, mixing station, construction equipment, materials, etc. were flooded or damaged; workers had to take temporary leave to take care of their homes; material mines could not operate due to flooding and power outages.

Although there are no specific statistics on the value of the damage, the Ministry of Construction assessed the level of impact as "significant", with the risk of slowing down progress and increasing investment costs.

The heavy rains and floods from November 16-25 paralyzed the North-South railway and many branch lines. Vietnam Railways Corporation estimated the damage at nearly VND122 billion, including VND80 billion for infrastructure and more than VND41 billion for passenger and freight transport.

The railway industry suffered nearly 122 billion VND in losses in just one week due to floods. Photo: VNR.

Many sections of roadbed were completely eroded, ranging from 1-4 km in length; in some places the track centerline was shifted by up to 4 m. At least 16 stations were flooded, equipment was damaged; dozens of trains had to be stopped, canceled, or transferred passengers. The railway had to mobilize nearly 1,000 workers and nearly 100 machines and equipment to restore the line, which took many days to fully reopen.

At Tuy Hoa Airport, heavy rains caused equipment systems such as the LOC station and Shelter station to be flooded, forcing operations to be temporarily suspended for more than a day for repairs. Fortunately, there were no casualties and flight operations returned to normal at noon on November 21.

Immediately after the floods ended, the tropical depression is moving rapidly into the East Sea and becoming the 15th storm of the year. The Ministry of Construction has issued a dispatch requesting units to closely monitor the scene, proactively prepare response plans and urgently ensure the safety of people and vehicles on the roads that are being eroded or have not been repaired.

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