November 1964 Vietnam floods

In November 1964, the quick succession of three typhoons—Iris, Joan, and Kate—caused widespread flooding in Vietnam. Constituting part of a very active typhoon season, the three typhoons made landfalls in South Vietnam within a 12-day period. The floods occurred against the backdrop of the escalating Vietnam War. Hardest-hit were the central provinces of South Vietnam where the storms moved ashore. Approximately 7,000 people were killed and over a million people were displaced by the storms as floods inundated over 20,000 km² (7,500 mi²) of land. An estimated 54,000 homes were destroyed.

Typhoons Iris, Joan, and Kate made landfall on the coast of Vietnam on November 4, November 8, and November 16, respectively. Individually, Joan was the most damaging, though each exacerbated the impacts of preceding storms. A plurality of fatalities occurred in Quảng Nam Province and Quảng Tín Province. Excessive rainfall caused rivers to overflow, destroying entire villages and inflicting numerous casualties. Heavy losses were sustained by the remaining unharvested rice crop in central Vietnam. U.S. and South Vietnamese military officials stated that the disaster caused a larger setback to their war effort than the Viet Cong had done. A widespread relief effort involving several countries began in the wake of the floods, resulting in the challenging distribution of food, shelter, and medical supplies amid conflict within a contested region.