ABSTRACT
110Vietnam is one of the five most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change. 1 Its long coastline is exposed to a wide range of threats, including typhoons – tropical cyclones – and associated storm surges and flooding. For example, Typhoon Xangsane in 2006 and Typhoon Ketsana in 2009 caused severe devastation, with strong winds and heavy rain accompanied by 2-metre high storm surges that caused extensive inland inundation. 2 , 3 Nearly 400 people were killed by these two typhoons and almost 600,000 houses were washed away and destroyed or severely damaged. 4
