In 2025, a historic monsoon season, compounded by a series of typhoons and floods, left a trail of destruction across Vietnam. For families living on the edge of the climate crisis, the disaster did not just break their homes: it shattered their ability to cope and recover from some of the worst flooding in recent history.
In the northern province of Thai Nguyen, 65-year-old Nguyen Thai Len and her husband, Duong Dac Soan, watched in terror as red, sediment-heavy water rose 1 metre in just under 1 hour, forcing them to flee to a relative’s house. When they returned, their home was buried in 10 cms of foul-smelling muck – their water systems and toilet completely ruined. Relying solely on farming for a living, they were in distress seeing all their crops destroyed and their livestock swept away.
Over 1,000 kms south in Gia Lai Province, Huynh Thi Anh, a 41-year-old mother of 3, faced a similar ordeal. Anh, who earns a modest living by hand-weaving plastic chairs, saw parts of her home collapse as waist-high water engulfed her village. The water pipes and latrine were devastated.
How humanitarian aid helped families to recover
Like thousands of others, Len and Anh were left without clean water and sanitation, even after the floodwaters receded. Through these photos, see how EU humanitarian aid and UNICEF Vietnam provided the essential kits and flexible cash grants needed to help these families restore their health, dignity and hope.
‘The floods destroyed almost everything we had’, says Len. ‘All crops were gone.’
‘The only thing we thought about was surviving. The water didn’t just rise, it surged – it was a cold, terrifyingly thick, red colour filled with debris.’
‘All I saw was a thick layer of mud. It smelt revolting.’
Toilets were clogged and water from wells – often the only source of clean water – turned murky and contaminated.
For Anh, the disaster hit twice. First, the floods destroyed her water systems, and then a month-long power outage meant she could not make the chairs that provided her only income.
‘I was distraught’, she says. ‘I didn’t know what to do.’
How cash transfers can help families
Since each family's path to recovery is different, EU humanitarian aid, together with UNICEF, provided €130 cash grants to each family.
The support empowered families to prioritise their needs, restoring access to clean water and sanitation on their own terms.
Ensuring access to safe and sufficient drinking water, basic sanitation, and hygiene
In addition to cash support, some families also received hygiene kits and other necessary supplies, including water storage tanks, water treatment tablets, soaps, toilet rolls, hand sanitisers and menstrual products, to help them maintain proper sanitary practices.
For families such as Len’s, the support made a big difference.
‘This has definitely helped us get back to our normal life and restore our livelihoods’, Len says. ‘We spent the cash on a new well that is deeper and better protected if the floods hit again.’
‘I used the money to hire a mason to repair the toilet’, Anh says. ‘I also had the broken pipes fixed and now we have clean water again.’
‘With our new water tank and deeper machine-pumped well, I know we’ll always have enough clean water’, Len adds with a smile.
In the aftermath of the floods, EU humanitarian funding has reached over 26,000 people across Vietnam.
