80 years of water management toward proactive disaster response

From above, the Red River dikes wind gracefully through fertile villages, while the coastal embankments of Ninh Binh and Hung Yen glisten in the sun like a massive armor embracing the plains. Few could imagine that just a few decades ago, these were frontline areas constantly battling natural disasters, storms, floods, and tidal surges, where people had to “struggle for every meter of land” against the fury of nature.

Today, as storms pass without leaving behind severe devastation, Viet Nam’s irrigation and disaster prevention sector can take pride not only in controlling water but in truly learning to live in harmony with nature.

Eighty years ago, disaster prevention in Viet Nam primarily relied on engineering measures such as dikes, sea embankments, and water barriers. The centuries-old dike system remains a foundational structure, but the context of climate change, extreme floods, and rising sea levels has forced a shift in approach. What was once reactive has now become proactive and adaptive.

In recent years, numerous river and coastal dikes have been reinforced, complemented by main canals, regulating reservoirs, and modern pumping stations to manage water flow. Alongside these “hard shields,” Viet Nam has also developed “soft shields,” including early warning systems, risk zone planning, and community capacity building.

This mindset has been translated into concrete actions. Over 9,000 km of river dikes and 3,000 km of coastal dikes have been inspected, reinforced, and equipped with sensors to monitor water levels, erosion, and heavy rainfall. Multi-purpose reservoirs such as Tan My (Khanh Hoa), Cua Dat (Thanh Hoa), Ke Go (Ha Tinh), and Ta Trach (Hue) are operated not only for water storage but also for flood mitigation downstream, dry-season irrigation, and domestic and agricultural use. In the Mekong Delta, the Cai Lon - Cai Be sluice system has become a central control point for salinity and freshwater regulation, helping millions of farmers avoid crop losses due to saltwater intrusion.

From the mid-2010s, Viet Nam entered a phase of modernizing disaster prevention. Instead of handling individual incidents separately, localities are now connected through a real-time data network. Over 1,000 meteorological, hydrological, and early warning stations for heavy rain, strong winds, and landslides have been installed, continuously transmitting data to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Flood maps and river basin-based flood forecasts have been digitized, allowing authorities to proactively evacuate residents 12-24 hours before major storms approach. At the local level, mobile applications and SMS alerts for floods and landslides have been deployed to high-risk communes, contributing to the significant reduction of damage during recent storms and heavy rains.

One of the most significant changes has been placing communities at the center of disaster prevention. Hundreds of thousands of residents in coastal, mountainous, and delta provinces have been trained and participated in evacuation drills and emergency response exercises. Thousands of “disaster-safe villages” have been recognized, where residents have risk maps, volunteer rescue teams, and self-protection plans in place while awaiting external assistance.

Multi-platform communication campaigns, from newspapers and television to social media, have helped foster a widespread “prevention culture.” While in the 1990s, natural disasters claimed thousands of lives annually, 20 years later, that number has dropped by more than 70%.

Alongside domestic efforts, Viet Nam has also emerged as a regional leader in international cooperation on disaster risk management. Participation in the UN’s Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 has allowed the country to access funding, technology, and international expertise. Projects supported by JICA (Japan), KOICA (South Korea), and UNDP have helped develop disaster risk maps, multi-hazard early warning systems, and “Resilient City” programs for 20 coastal urban areas.

According to the UNDRR 2023 report, Viet Nam ranks among the top ASEAN countries in disaster risk reduction capacity, particularly in storm forecasting, dike management, and adaptation to saltwater intrusion.

In parallel, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has actively promoted digital transformation in disaster risk management. Dikes, sluices, and reservoirs are assigned unique identifiers and managed through spatial data systems. Artificial intelligence is applied and integrated to forecast riverbank erosion, analyze extreme rainfall data, and identify points at risk of dike breaches. The VDDMA now operates the entire network via GIS digital maps, enabling nationwide monitoring of dikes, spillways, embankments, and sluices - a rare advancement in the region.

Looking back over 80 years of history, from the floods of 1971 and 1986 that submerged the Red River Delta, to the 2020 storm season when Central Viet Nam faced dozens of consecutive storms yet reservoirs and dikes remained intact, the key difference lies in prevention, response, and operational capacity. Each disaster now results in fewer casualties and faster recovery. This is the measure of success of eight decades of building and enhancing the nation’s water management capacity.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep, disaster management today is not merely about response but about risk governance: It is an investment in the future, protecting livelihoods and sustainable development. This approach encapsulates the spirit of the entire sector, from the dike keepers during flood season to the engineers operating reservoirs using satellite data.