While attribution studies point to the role of climate change in worsening the severity of recent natural disasters, the impacts have also been exacerbated by failures in resilience strategy, including "deforestation, poorly planned urban development, land reclamation, and the obstruction of natural drainage systems," according to Loan.
Vietnam's climate adaptation plan lodged with the United Nations in September sets out the many gaps in the nation's resilience strategy. Some warning systems for incidents like flash floods or landslides don't yet meet requirements, 70% of sea dykes have yet to be upgraded, and more than 1,000 reservoirs are degraded or damaged. "Current policies mainly focus on disaster recovery rather than prevention," Loan said.