Hội An Ancient Town under floodwater. Photo VNA/VNS Photo

ĐÀ NẴNG — Việt Nam’s UNESCO World Heritage sites – the Complex of Huế Monuments and Hội An Ancient Town in the central cities of Huế and Đà Nẵng have suffered the worst flooding in decades, forcing municipal authorities to confront accelerating climate threats to irreplaceable cultural assets.

Iconic structures vanished beneath floodwaters, with only the roof of Huế’s Nghinh Lương Pavilion poking above the swollen Hương River. Torrents poured through imperial gates, submerging the entire Đại Nội (Imperial Palace) and leaving courtyards and pathways under 1.2-1.5m of water.

The Huế Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC) reported multiple palaces inside the Imperial Citadel flooded to depths of 0.2-0.3m, while royal tomb courtyards saw water levels reach 1.7m.

In the most dramatic incident, a 14m section of the Citadel’s northern wall collapsed around 6:45 on November 2, one of the gravest heritage losses recorded in the deluge.

Further downstream along the Vu Gia - Thu Bồn River system, Hội An’s centuries-old wooden houses and lantern-lit streets remain underwater for days, crippling daily life and inflicting widespread damage on fragile historic architecture.

The Hội An Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation (HACCHMP) said roughly 30 relic sites have deteriorated, nine of them critically and 14 severely. It has called on Đà Nẵng authorities to urgently repair or temporarily dismantle 10 previously reinforced structures now deemed too unstable, warning they risk total collapse.

Located in one of Việt Nam’s most flood-prone corridors, Huế and Hội An have long coped with seasonal inundation, but the rapid degradation of ancient buildings amid more intense and erratic weather demands a fundamental rethink of preservation strategies.

HMC City Director Hoàng Việt Trung said the Citadel’s collapsed wall segment should be rebuilt within two months once technical approvals are secured, while a broader restoration plan for perimeter walls, balustrades and the Ngoại Kim Thủy moat embankments is being prepared for the 2026-2030 public investment cycle.

HACCHMP Deputy Director Phạm Phú Ngọc urged Đà Nẵng city's Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to seek approval for the centre’s hiring of consulting units and research institutes for a full climate impact assessment focused on the recent extreme floods, with results to shape future mitigation efforts.

He further wished for immediate state-funded emergency repairs for at-risk heritage buildings and homes inside Hội An’s protected zone, a cost-sharing mechanism covering 40-100 per cent of restoration expenses for listed properties citywide, and the establishment of a dedicated preservation fund to enable rapid response when structures are endangered. — VNA/VNS