A mother and son stand inside their flooded home in Lao Cai province, Vietnam after Super Typhoon Yagi.
Emergency Response

UNICEF Responds After Super Typhoon Yagi Slams Vietnam

UNICEF is helping families meet urgent needs following flooding and landslides caused by Super Typhoon Yagi, the worst storm to hit Vietnam in 30 years. 

UNICEF is accelerating support for early recovery 

Super Typhoon Yagi barreled into northern Vietnam on Sept. 7, 2024, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, homes, schools and water systems across 26 provinces.

Nearly 19 million people, including 5.5 million children, live in areas affected by the powerful storm.

Six-year-old Cao Huyền Trang stands in front of her home, destroyed by a landslide caused by Super Typhoon Yagi’s heavy rains.
Six-year-old Cao Huyền Trang stands in front of her family's home in Bắc Kạn province, destroyed by a landslide caused by Super Typhoon Yagi’s torrential rains. © UNICEF/UNI642896/Do Khuong Duy

Access to clean water is critical to safeguard children's health, avoid spread of waterborne disease

As a direct result of the storm, 400,000 households have been left without access to safe water due to widespread power failures impacting water facilities.

UNICEF is delivering emergency water supplies — including water purification tablets, water tanks, ceramic filters, hand sanitizers, and soap — to government partners for distribution to households, hospitals, health facilities and schools. 

Watch the video:

"UNICEF is committed to urgently providing sustained support to the Government of Vietnam to ensure children and families have access to essential services," said Silvia Danailov, UNICEF’s Representative in Vietnam.

"We have already started to deliver lifesaving support and are mobilizing resources to address the massive needs."

UNICEF Officer Trinh Duy Thuan delivers water tanks to families after Typhoon Yagi swept through Tan Linh commune, Yen Bai Province, Vietnam.
On Sept. 7, 2024, UNICEF Officer Trinh Duy Thuan delivers water tanks to families coping with the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yagi in Tan Linh commune, Yen Bai Province, Vietnam. © UNICEF/UNI643890/Le Vu

Children are disproportionately impacted by extreme weather events

More than 800 schools are estimated to be damaged by the powerful storm. Approximately 2 million children have been left without access to education, psychosocial support and school feeding programs.

"The devastation caused by the typhoon is a tragic reminder of the disproportionate impact extreme weather events, intensified by climate change, have on children," Danailov continued.

UNICEF Representative Silvia Danailov holds a box of water purification tablets, part of a shipment provided by UNICEF to government partners for distribution to communities affected by TyphoonYagi.
On Sept. 12, 2024, UNICEF Vietnam Representative Silvia Danailov holds a box of water purification tablets, part of a shipment provided by UNICEF to government partners for distribution to communities affected by Super Typhoon Yagi. © UNICEF/UNI641723/Truong Viet Hung

UNICEF is also working with the government to provide urgent support including:

  • providing emergency kits with essential items – including psychosocial support materials, educational tools, hygiene supplies and basic health care products – to children and families in the most affected areas
  • delivering vital medical supplies, including vaccines, malnutrition treatment, nutrition supplements and hygiene kits to health centers in the most affected areas
  • extending psychosocial support to children affected by the trauma of the disaster
  • supporting the reopening of schools by providing temporary learning spaces and educational materials
  • distributing payments of humanitarian cash assistance to the most vulnerable households with children and pregnant women — allowing them to meet urgent needs and recover more quickly from the disaster
A young girl is carried home by her father on a mattress in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi on Sept. 11, 2024.
A father pushes his young daughter home on an inflatable mattress through the flooded streets of Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi on Sept. 11, 2024. © UNICEF/UNI642519/Nong Viet Linh

Your contribution will help UNICEF scale support for children and their families. Please donate today.

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Learn more about UNICEF and typhoon relief.

 

TOP PHOTO: A mother and son stand inside their flooded home in Lam Tien village, Muong Vi commune, Lao Cai province, Vietnam. A flash flood and landslide caused by Super Typhoon Yagi broke the entire back wall of the house, filling it with muddy water. © UNICEF/UNI644915/Dang Thai Binh. Video edited by Tong Su for UNICEF USA

HOW TO HELP

There are many ways to make a difference

War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.

Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.

Donate to UNICEF USA to help kids survive and thrive
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Help UNICEF get lifesaving aid to children in crisis

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