Located in the monsoon tropics – one of five storm areas in the Asia Pacific regions,
Vietnam has been facing with various patterns of natural disasters and is annually under the
disadvantageous impacts of natural disasters, causing great loss of people and assets.
Especially, during the past years, natural disasters happened nationwide, caused to severe loss
of people and assets, infrastructures of economy, culture and society, negatively effected on
environment and socio-economic development. During the last 12 years (1996 - 2008), the
natural disasters such as storm, flood, landslide, drought and others had considerably caused
to the loss of about 9,600 people (See Figure 1) and assets of a value equivalent to about 1.5%
GDP/ year. Natural disaster level in Vietnam is increasing in terms of scope, frequency and
unpredictable characteristics.