Flood risks in Hue, Central Viet Nam: An assessment of flood hazards, exposures, vulnerabilities, root causes and impacts

Abstract

With its long coastline and dense populations along rivers and coastal zones, Viet Nam is one of the world’s countries most affected by floods. Thua Thien Hue province in Central Viet Nam is one region that is particularly prone to flooding as it has two to three floods of varying severity each year, which cause significant damage to people, infrastructure and nature. To effectively reduce future flood impacts and enhance the region’s resilience to floods, it is crucial to understand flood risk drivers and how they progress to the adverse impacts. These include identifying flood-prone areas, understanding who and what is in these areas, that is, exposed to floods (e.g. people or infrastructure), and determining how exposed people and elements are vulnerable to harm from floods. However, this information is currently unavailable in the region, hindering effective risk management. This report addresses this need with insights into the complex nature of flood risks for the urban region of Hue, and recommendations for comprehensive and sustainable flood risk management and adaptation strategies at the catchment level, including risk-informed spatial development planning. More specifically, this report provides an overview of past flood events and their impacts on the region (see chapter 2), an in-depth analysis of key flood impacts on people, livelihoods, transport and water quality, including risk drivers, root causes and interconnections (see chapter 3), an outlook on future flood risks in Hue (see chapter 4), and entry points for comprehensive flood risk management and adaptation (see chapter 5). The report concludes with a summary and an outlook (see chapter 6).