View from the historic flood in Hoi An
The recent historic flood in October 2025 in Hoi An clearly revealed the systematic weaknesses in heritage conservation. The 2025 flood will see record highs, up to 3.5m at times, higher than the historic flood peak in round of 16.. More than 1,100 ancient houses and relics in the Hoi An World Heritage Site have been submerged in floodwater for many days.
The impact does not stop at flooding. Conservation experts point out two particularly dangerous risks. First is damage caused by soaking in water. The ancient houses hundreds of years old, which were already "broken", became "dead" after many days soaked in floodwaters. The risk of mold increases, the wood structures are rotten and seriously degraded. Second is the risk of collapse when the water recedes. This is a serious technical risk and when floodwaters recede rapidly. Sudden changes in water pressure can cause a "squeeze", leading to the risk of a house wall falling in the old quarter, which has already been weakly damaged by water in the foundation and structure.
Although authorities have made efforts to hold back, relocate valuable artifacts and raise assets before the flood, the scale of the disaster is still beyond response capacity.
Natural disasters in Hoi An have highlighted a core legal and social issue, which is the difference in conservation capacity between state-owned relics and private-owned relics. When the flood occurred, many architectural relics owned by the State that were being restored had to be temporarily suspended to organize support. However, the biggest concern is that more than 100 private relics have seriously degraded and are in a state of serious disrepair.
Private owners, even though living in the heritage, do not have enough financial resources to carry out emergency restoration measures. Similarly, many other ancient houses had to temporarily reinforce themselves with plastic tarpaulins to collect rainwater, while the house's pillars were covered with hollow ant worms. This reality shows that while the state strives to protect public works, the "loophole" in funding and support mechanisms for private relics is threatening the integrity of the Hoi An Ancient Town heritage from within, each house.
Action plan
From the above bone lessons, to shift from passive response to proactive risk management, Vietnam needs a strategic action roadmap to help heritage overcome the devastation of extreme natural disasters.
Currently, the Law on Cultural Heritage urgently needs to supplement mandatory provisions for World Heritage Sites and National Monuments. In particular, it is necessary to develop, announce and periodically practice the "Disaster Risk Management Plan" ( DRM Plan). This plan must be updated every 5 years, integrating the latest climate change scenarios, learning the model of continuous legal updates of Japan, Germany, and China. While this is an important provision in the Law on Cultural Heritage of countries around the world, this phrase is still absent from the Law on Cultural Heritage 2024.
Second, we must solve the "private ownership loophole" so as not to repeat the unfortunate situation like in Hoi An, the State needs to establish a "private Heritage Emergency Support and Restoration Fund". This fund not only provides financial support (whether it is a preferential loan or subsidy) but must also be accompanied by compulsory technical support. This ensures that private households use the right materials and technical methods when restoring, avoiding incorrect methods (such as concrete repair) or technical risks (such as collapse due to "swerving" walls when supporting).
The State budget for conservation technology needs to be given strategic priority. The goal of 3D digitalization needs to change from creating VR/AR experiences to a national strategic task of completing 3D scanning of all National Monuments. Especially in the next 5 years, considering this as an "insurance file" for restoration work.
Vietnamese heritage managers must recognize that natural disaster risks (such as floods) and overloaded travel pressures (an artificial risk) are eroding heritage at the same time. The Natural Disaster Risk Management Plan (DRM Plan) must be closely integrated with the Sustainable Tourism Management Plan. There should be measures to regulate and limit the number of visitors to " fragile" relic sites during the flood season or immediately after the flood recedes, ensuring heritage has " space to breathe" and recover after climate shocks.
