By the morning of November 22, as floodwaters began to recede in many parts of Khanh Hoa and Gia Lai, the extent of the damage became visible - most strikingly through the images of cars submerged in muddy water after one of the worst floods in the region's history.

Since November 19, prolonged rains combined with emergency water releases from reservoirs inundated roads across neighborhoods such as Tay Nha Trang Ward, Dien Dien Commune, Dien Khanh, and Nam Ninh Hoa. Many cars parked overnight had no chance of being moved to safety.

Sedans and trucks parked along roads or in residential zones were flooded, with water seeping into engines and interiors. Several vehicles were submerged to the roof, while others were swept away by the current.

Nguyen Van Nam, a resident of Tay Nha Trang, said his family’s car, worth billions of VND, was submerged under more than one meter of water.

“The floodwaters rose incredibly fast and engulfed the entire neighborhood. We tried to move our cars to higher ground, but all the roads were already underwater,” he said, visibly shaken.

In the parking lot of Go Supermarket in Tay Nha Trang, hundreds of vehicles were submerged in the early morning of November 20. Many were almost completely underwater. Once a bustling commercial area, the location has become one of the “hot spots” of the flood, with cars swallowed in just a few hours of heavy rain.

In Gia Lai, rainfall and upstream flooding submerged streets like Hung Vuong and parts of National Highway 1A in Tuy Phuoc. Many vehicles were stranded mid-road with damaged engines and electrical systems.

Ha Nam