Soldiers from Khánh Hòa Province's Military Command deploy flood relief on Friday morning.— VNA/VNS Photo Đặng Tuấn

HÀ NỘI — An emergency financial package worth nearly VNĐ700 billion (US$26.5 million) was approved on Friday morning to address the devastating impacts of recent flooding in four provinces of Khánh Hòa, Lâm Đồng, Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk.

Under Decision 2549/QĐ-TTg signed by Acting Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Hòa Bình on Friday morning, the amount will be disbursed from the 2025 central budget contingency fund.

The allocation includes VNĐ200 billion ($7.6 million) each for Khánh Hòa and Lâm Đồng, and VNĐ150 billion ($5.7 million) each for Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk, in line with a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Finance on Thursday.

Bình instructed provincial authorities to proactively balance local budgets and combine the central Government’s support with other lawful financial sources to implement urgent measures for disaster recovery.

He also emphasised that the funds must be managed transparently, used for their intended purposes and allocated to the correct beneficiaries, in accordance with State budget regulations.

Provinces are required to report their spending to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and other relevant agencies for consolidation before submission to the Prime Minister.

The decision took effect on Friday.

A preliminary report from the Việt Nam Disaster and Dike Management Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said exceptionally heavy rainfall and flooding have caused catastrophic damage across several central provinces, particularly Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk and Khánh Hòa.

As of Thursday evening, at least 43 people had been confirmed dead, including 16 in Đắk Lắk, 14 in Khánh Hòa, five in Gia Lai, four in Lâm Đồng and two each in Huế and Đà Nẵng.

A further nine people remain missing (four in Đắk Lắk, two in Đà Nẵng, one in Quảng Trị, one in Khánh Hòa and one in Lâm Đồng).

Floodwaters have also inundated nearly 68,000 homes, with Đắk Lắk suffering the worst impact (over 39,500 homes), followed by Gia Lai (19,200) and Khánh Hòa (9,000). Numerous communes and wards remain isolated by high water.

Agricultural losses are severe, with 15,000ha of rice and crops destroyed, and nearly 31,000 livestock and poultry killed or swept away.

Initial economic damage is estimated to exceed VNĐ3 trillion ($113.7 million).— VNS