Tran Ngoc Lan, 6 years old, is the only survivor of a family after a flash flood hit Nu Village during Typhoon Yagi in northern Vietnam in September 2024.

Lan is one of the few survivors after the catastrophic flood completely buried the village in Bao Yen District, the mountainous province of Lao Cai in the early hours of September 10.

Some survivors recalled a 'water pocket' on the mountain burst after two explosions, unleashing torrents of water and mud and burying the once-thriving village, home to several generations of families in rubble. Provincial Chairman Trinh Xuan Truong said: “We never imagined a landslide and flood of this magnitude.”

The devastating flash flood claimed 58 lives and left 9 others missing in the village of 37 households with 158 residents.

Lan is among dozens of orphans who lost either moms or dads or both in the disaster. 

Nguyen Xuan Khang, Chairman of the  Marrie Currie School System in Hanoi, said Ngoc Lan represents "the unfortunate children of the sorrowful Nu Village" as she lost her parents and two older brothers. To help ease the grief caused to the villagers, the school's founder and teacher will provide financial support to the village’s 22 children, aged from 3 to 17, until they reach the age of 18.

In the devastation of Typhoon Yagi, 59 teachers and schoolchildren lost their lives among the total of 345 people dead or missing. The typhoon also destroyed more than 41,000 textbooks and caused VND1.2 trillion ($47.2 million) in losses to the education sector.

Ahead of the typhoon, downpours were recorded in central Vietnam. It forced Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son to urge schools in the region not to start the new academic year if it was accompanied by bad weather forecasts.

In this natural calamity, children remained the hardest hit. This was evident when hundreds of schools in the northern region either collapsed or were severely damaged, disrupting the education of millions of children.

In the capital city of Hanoi, nearly 40 schools sustained severe damage and were unsafe for classes after the storm, while more than 10,000 trees in schools were felled and uprooted. It took days for many schools in the outlying district of Chuong My to resume their operations.

The same fate befell Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai, one of the country’s industrial hubs with  39 industrial parks covering an area of 18,500 hectares.

“My living environment has been badly impaired by climate change, with the rainy season causing intense downpours and frequent flooding, while the dry season is marked by scorching heat and prolonged sunny weather,” said 13-year-old Nguyen Viet Nhat from the Center for Disabilities in Dong Nai Province.

The average temperature recorded in 2023 was recorded as the world’s hottest in 174 years according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), causing severe drought and salt intrusion in Vietnam’s Central Highlands and Mekong Delta regions.

We don't have to wait until 2023 to experience record-breaking heat, as early as 2016, while working in Ben Tre province in the Mekong Delta, I witnessed extremely hot days during the rainy season. In those days, schools had to limit outdoor activities, which had a direct impact on physical education. During the dry season, a prolonged drought caused water shortages for hundreds of thousands of locals. The water from drilled wells is rusty and cannot be used for cooking.

UNICEF said children are on the front lines of the climate crisis. “Vietnam is one of the countries particularly exposed to climate change risks and children are disproportionately affected,” the UN body said on World Children’s Day (November 20).

Millions of children and their families are increasingly vulnerable to the severe impacts of climate-related shocks, including droughts, typhoons, landslides, and floods, which threaten critical services like healthcare, nutrition, education, and social and child protection.

Climate change is threatening children’s lives – it is time for world leaders to listen.

At the COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, Vietnamese children sent their message to the world’s leaders, urging them to protect children and do more to tackle climate threats and ensure a liveable tomorrow.

“Dear leaders, we’re running out of time, Let’s urge everyone to work together to protect the environment,” said Che Thanh Hieu, 14 years old, from the central province of Quang Ngai.

Hoang Trieu Man, 13, from the central coastal city of Danang, shared: “I hope world leaders to implement policies to better control plastic waste in the oceans.”

Meanwhile, Pham Phuong Linh, 14, Hanoi, stressed the importance of raising awareness among young people to increase their engagement in climate action.

“I want to protect this beautiful Earth. Let’s plant more trees to make the earth green, make Vietnam green, and keep the air clean,” said Nguyen Viet Nhat from Dong Nai.

In the message recorded by UNICEF, Vietnamese children talked loudly about the COP29’s theme “In Solidarity for a Green World.”

“Typhoon Yagi drove home the truth that climate change is devastating communities. This isn’t the next generation’s problem, it’s already ours. Collectively, we must do everything we can to protect children and their families from climate change and the devastation it leaves in its wake,” said Silvia Danailov, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam.

Vietnam's celebration of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on November 20 focuses on climate action, emphasizing children’s right to a safe and sustainable environment under CRC General Comment No. 26.

Commenting on the issues, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep said: “Vietnam is at a critical juncture in addressing the growing impacts of climate change on its youngest citizens. The government remains firmly committed to advancing policies and partnerships protecting children from climate-related risks and promoting sustainable development.”

Ahead of COP29, UNICEF is calling for leaders to deliver four critical actions for children and young people, namely (1) Ensuring the COP29 Cover Decision responds to the unique and disproportionate impact of climate change on children; (2) Securing a dramatic increase in climate financing for children including funding for adaptation and loss and damage; (3) Guaranteeing all Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) 3.0 are child-sensitive and responding to the disproportionate impact of climate change on children; and (4) Empowering children and young people to be present and meaningfully participate in climate decision-making at all levels.

“In all parts of the world, children face devastating consequences of climate crises,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “We are at a critical juncture. Children must be at the center of our climate negotiations.”

Speaking on World Children's Day, Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam Ito Naoki underscored the collaborative efforts between the Japanese and Vietnamese governments on various disaster management initiatives. He also highlighted the assistance provided through UNICEF to children, a group highly vulnerable to the impacts of the disaster.

“The Japanese government intends to continue to contribute to disaster risk reduction for vulnerable children in the field of climate change in Vietnam, for example, through the horizontal development of child-focused disaster drills, and by supporting the reconstruction of primary schools and evacuation centers damaged by the recent typhoon,” he said.

The State of the World’s Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a Changing World warns that childhood is at risk without urgent action to protect children’s rights in the face of climate crises, demographic shifts, and advancing technologies.

For that reason, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep said that with collective efforts, we can turn challenges like Typhoon Yagi into opportunities for progress and ensure that every child has a safe, healthy, and promising future.

It raises the question of what people can do to mitigate the impact of climate change on vulnerable groups. It’s no longer a question of possibility; it’s a question of responsibility and it requires collective efforts. 

Today coincides with both World Children's Day and Vietnamese Teachers' Day (November 20) – a time meant for celebrating children, the seeds of our future, and honoring teachers, the guardians of knowledge. But instead of joy, I feel a profound sadness as I recall the devastating flood that took the lives of 60 of my fellow countrymen in an instant.

This tragedy, a stark consequence of global climate change, left both Vietnam and the world reeling. It serves as a powerful reminder that climate change spares no nation or people. Hopefully, through collective efforts, we can prevent such catastrophic consequences and ensure a brighter, safer future for our children to ensure “a liveable planet for every child.”

This story was produced as part of the 2024 COP29 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.