Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority (VDDMA), and Mr. Shin Ishikawa, Minister’s Secretary of MLIT Japan, co-chaired the workshop.
In his opening remarks, Deputy Director General Nguyen Truong Son noted that disasters have become increasingly extreme, with higher frequency and more devastating impacts. In Vietnam, where 70% of the terrain is mountainous, heavy rains and storms have exacerbated landslide and flash flood risks, severely affecting human life, property, and livelihoods.
He recalled the devastating impact of Typhoon No. 3 in September 2024, the most powerful storm to make landfall in Vietnam in 70 years. The storm brought widespread rains to 26 provinces in the North, leading to major flooding, landslides, and flash floods. The disaster resulted in 345 deaths and missing persons, nearly 2,000 injuries, damage to 400,000 houses, and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops and aquaculture, with total estimated losses of over VND 81.8 trillion.
Mr. Son emphasized the urgent need for resource investment and public awareness to address these disaster risks. On this occasion, he expressed sincere thanks to the Government of Japan, MLIT, and JICA for their support in piloting the first SABO dam in Vietnam, completed in April 2025 in Nam Pam stream basin, Muong La District, Son La Province—an area frequently affected by flash floods and landslides. He noted that the pilot dam, though small in scale, is a symbol of effective and heartfelt cooperation from the Government and people of Japan.
He expressed hope that the Government of Japan, MLIT, and JICA would continue supporting Vietnam to develop a full system of SABO dams in Nam Pam and consider scaling the model to other high-risk areas across the country.
In his remarks, Mr. Shin Ishikawa, Minister’s Secretary of MLIT Japan, emphasized that this annual dialogue workshop is based on the bilateral agreement signed between the two ministries. He highlighted the timeliness and significance of this 13th workshop’s topic—“Countermeasures against Landslides”—within the broader scope of disaster risk reduction collaboration.
Ms. Dang Thi Huong, Deputy Head of the Disaster Response and Recovery Department at VDDMA, presented an overview of the landslide and flash flood situation in Vietnam. She noted that the northern mountainous and central regions are the most affected by these disasters. From 2015 to 2024, landslides and flash floods caused an annual average of 79 deaths or missing persons in these regions.
She explained that steep terrain, complex geology, dense river systems, and short-duration extreme rainfall are major causes. Ms. Huong emphasized the need for increased investment in infrastructure for landslide and flood prevention, especially in high-risk residential areas and critical infrastructure zones.
She recommended relocating people from extremely high-risk areas and integrating sustainable livelihoods into resettlement programs. She also stressed the importance of enhancing rainfall and landslide forecasting, mapping risk areas down to the village level, and developing early warning systems with sensors and artificial intelligence.
Ms. Huong encouraged deeper cooperation with international partners, research institutions, and the private sector to improve disaster modeling and deploy suitable technological solutions for local needs.
At the workshop, Mr. Takao Yamakoshi from MLIT Japan presented Japan’s experience with early warning systems, hazard mapping, and awareness-raising for sediment-related disasters.
The 13-year partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam (formerly MARD) and MLIT Japan has facilitated numerous joint activities, technical missions, and annual workshops focused on disaster response collaboration, covering topics such as typhoons, floods, landslides, riverbank erosion, and coastal degradation.
