From recovery to resilience: Assistance for communities in Thai Nguyen and Da Nang after the typhoons
“Vietnam Typhoon Response” project in Thai Nguyen and Da Nang, implemented by Oxfam in Vietnam in partnership with the Thai Nguyen and Da Nang Red Cross across 11 communes and wards, officially concluded at the end of May 2026.
The project was funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Humanitarian Partnership.
Over more than six months of implementation, the project helped communities recover from the impacts of storms and floods while strengthening their resilience to future disasters through the following activities:
- Providing unconditional cash assistance to affected households
- Improving access to clean water and sanitation, while raising community awareness of safe water protection and good hygiene practices
- Restoring and strengthening household livelihoods
- Delivering disaster preparedness and first aid training for community members
- Enhancing local capacity for disaster risk management and response
At the project closing workshops held on May 20 and 22, 110 participants came together to reflect on the project's achievements, share lessons learned, and discuss solutions to strengthen coordination, improve the quality of humanitarian assistance, and enhance accountability to affected communities.
“During our field visit, we met community members who received multipurpose cash assistance. They also participated in cash-for-work activities to help restore agricultural production. We visited households involved in improving and installing domestic water systems as well. Looking ahead, Oxfam will continue supporting efforts to strengthen local disaster risk management capacity,” Lucia Goldsmith, Humanitarian Lead at Oxfam Australia.
“The project provided disaster response team members with training on search and rescue knowledge and skills. This has created a strong foundation for our commune to further implement the ‘four-on-the-spot’ approach: on-the-spot command, on-the-spot personnel, on-the-spot equipment, and on-the-spot logistics. The project’s support was both timely and well aligned with local needs, helping address long-standing gaps in knowledge, skills, and rescue equipment”, Dam Duy Cuong, a representative of the Commune Disaster Response Team in Dan Tien Commune, Thai Nguyen Province.
The project emphasized local ownership and meaningful community participation throughout its implementation. It placed particular focus on ensuring that women, girls, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups had equitable access to project support tailored to their specific needs, while also empowering them to actively contribute and build their capacities throughout the implementation process.
“Timely and effective coordination among central agencies, local authorities, the Red Cross, Women's Unions at all levels, and donor organizations is a key factor in enabling communities to recover sustainably after disasters,” Vu Xuan Viet, Humanitarian Program Manager.
Oxfam sincerely thanks the Australian Government and the Australian Embassy for their generous support of the project. We also extend our appreciation to our partners, local authorities, and communities in Thai Nguyen Province and Da Nang City for their close collaboration and commitment throughout the project, helping deliver meaningful support to disaster-affected households and strengthen community resilience for the future.
From November 2025 to the end of May 2026, the project's emergency response and post-disaster recovery activities reached more than 32,000 people across 11 communes and wards in Thai Nguyen Province and Da Nang City. Among the beneficiaries, 52% were women, including 567 pregnant women or women with young children, while 986 people with disabilities received direct support through the project.
A total of 8,989 people (53% of whom were women and girls) from 1,680 poor and near-poor households affected by Typhoons Matmo, Bualoi, and Kalmaegi in the project areas received unconditional cash assistance.
Each household received VND 3,000,000 in support. In addition, 290 pregnant women, women with young children, and households with persons with disabilities, as well as 180 women who played active frontline roles in disaster preparedness and response across the 11 communes and wards, received an additional VND 1,000,000.
The timely cash assistance enabled families to meet their most urgent needs, including repairing damaged homes, purchasing essential supplies, restoring their livelihoods, and gradually rebuilding their lives after the disasters.
“Today, we have come here to receive support that is truly meaningful for our lives. This assistance has helped ease some of the hardships our families have faced since the recent floods and storms and has enabled us to meet our basic daily needs. On behalf of everyone here, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to Oxfam, the Red Cross, and the local authorities for their support,” shared Truong Thanh Hai, a resident of Phiem Ai 2 Village, Dai Loc Commune, Da Nang City.
To support livelihood recovery and restore community infrastructure after the storms, the project engaged 8,186 people in cash-for-work activities, including 4,648 women.
Cash-for-work is an approach through which community members participate in restoring priority infrastructure damaged by disasters, such as rehabilitating farmland, repairing access roads to production areas, dredging irrigation canals, cleaning public spaces, and clearing drainage systems. Participants receive wages based on the actual labor days.
In addition to providing much-needed income for households during a challenging period, these activities helped restore essential infrastructure, encouraged active community participation, strengthened solidarity and shared responsibility, and enhanced local capacity for recovery and resilience.
In March and April 2026, the project conducted household water quality assessments across 11 disaster-affected communes and wards.
In Thai Nguyen, the assessments found that many domestic water sources had been contaminated by microorganisms following the floods, particularly in areas relying on dug wells and gravity-fed water systems. Many households continued to use untreated water for daily activities and drinking.
In Da Nang, household water sources were also affected by the storms and floods, with microbial contamination, elevated iron levels, and high turbidity. The unstable water quality increased health risks and placed an additional financial burden on families due to higher water treatment costs.
Based on the assessment findings, the project provided technical assistance and financial support for 68 households to construct low-cost sand water filters, while also distributing water storage containers and hygiene kits. In total, 9,316 people benefited from improved knowledge and practical solutions to enhance access to clean water and sanitation.
In June 2026, the project will continue distributing hygiene kits to beneficiary households in three communes in Da Nang and expand the low-cost sand filter model to help more families gain access to safer and cleaner water.
The photo in the upper right shows a household's well in Thai Nguyen after the historic flooding caused by Typhoon No. 11 in 2025. The photo below captures a project assessment team testing water quality and providing technical advice to help residents improve their water sources.
24,970 community members and students participated in awareness-raising activities on water source protection, household water treatment after disasters, personal hygiene practices, and the prevention of waterborne diseases during the rainy and flood seasons. Participants also received guidance on proper handwashing with clean water and soap.
These activities helped reduce the risk of disease outbreaks and improve community health. By the end of the events, many students become active advocates for clean water and good hygiene practices within their families and communities.
Through capacity-building activities on disaster preparedness and response, first aid training, and emergency response drills, the project enhanced the knowledge and skills of 418 members of Commune/Ward Disaster Response and Search and Rescue Teams. These efforts also strengthened community preparedness, resilience, and the ability to respond proactively to disaster risks and the impacts of climate change.
“Vietnam Typhoon Response” project in Thai Nguyen and Da Nang was implemented from November 2025 to the end of May 2026 in Linh Son Ward, Trung Thanh Ward, Van Lang Commune, Trang Xa Commune, Dan Tien Commune, Vo Nhai Commune, Diem Thuy Commune, and Phu Luong Commune in Thai Nguyen City.
In Da Nang, the project was implemented from November 2025 to the end of June 2026 in Duy Xuyen Commune, Dai Loc Commune, and Nong Son Commune.