VULNERABILITY OF COASTAL AREAS IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM AGAINST TROPICAL CYCLONES AND STORM SURGES

Vietnam has a long coastline that stretches from north to south and thus is a country highly susceptible to coastal disasters. However, the southern part of Vietnam has generally been perceived to be less vulnerable to typhoons or storm surges compared to the northern and central parts of the country. The authors tried to understand the actual vulnerability of this southern coastline to coastal disasters, in particular storm surge, through the field surveys and numerical simulations. Through the field survey it was evident that there are a number of settlements at risk, such as a number of houses standing on a severely eroded beach and a village located in a low-lying river bank. The interviews with local residents revealed that people living there were not concerned about typhoons, while a typhoon track analysis shows that a substantial number of typhoons have approached southern Vietnam in the past. The authors estimated that the highest water elevation due to storm surges in the past 6 decades was approximately one meter by performing the numerical simulation. It is feared that these vulnerable local communities could be devastated by a storm surge accompanied by strong waves if the past biggest class typhoon occurs.