Heavy rain triggers landslides and floods in central Vietnam, killing 7

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Heavy rain swept central Vietnam on Monday, triggering landslides and floods, killing at least seven, injuring dozens and stranding thousands.

The deluges have wreaked widespread destruction across a region already battered weeks ago by floods from record rainfall and the powerful typhoon Kalmaegi.

Rainfall through Wednesday is expected to reach 30–60 centimeters (12–24 inches) in parts of central Vietnam, with some areas likely to exceed 85 centimeters (33 inches).

The hard-hit province of Khanh Hoa, a coastal region with hilly inland terrain, recorded one of its heaviest rainfall in years on Sunday night when earth and rocks collapsed on a bus traveling through the Khanh Le pass in the central highlands, state media reported.

The landslide crushed the front of the bus at around 9.30 p.m. local time, killing six people and trapping many passengers. Rescuers struggled for hours to reach the scene as heavy rain had also caused landslides on both sides of the pass, cutting off access. Rescue teams were only able to reach the bus after midnight, according to state media.

“Rocks and soil fell down with a loud bang. I was thrown on the roof of the bus before falling down," Nguyen Long Cuong, the 39-year-old bus conductor, told state media VN Express.

The bus was carrying 32 people from Vietnam’s financial capital, Ho Chi Minh City and was traveling from Da Lat in Vietnam’s central highlands to the coastal city of Nha Trang. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital. State media said two of the dead bodies were still trapped under the debris as the treacherous terrain hindered the work

The winding, 33-kilometer (20-mile) stretch carved into steep mountainsides is scenic and popular with tourists but prone to landslides in the rainy season.

The rains have triggered multiple landslides on major routes in Vietnam’s Central Highlands and traffic on several hilly passes has been suspended, state media said.

Also in Khanh Hoa, waterlogged soil collapsed on 10 workers at the Khanh Son pass on Sunday night, killing one and injuring another, while another remained missing, state media said. The seven others were able to flee to safety.

Flooding also hit the port city Cam Ranh and the coastal district of Cam Lam Sunday night, submerging more than 100 metres (328 ft) of railway lines under water and debris. Over 800 passengers on four trains were still stranded on Monday evening.

Flood waters inundated the Du Long Industrial Park on Monday, which houses several factories, including German and South Korean companies. Rains submerged factories by 1 meter (3.2 feet) of water and forced the power cuts, forcing thousands of workers to halt operations.

Torrential rain also flooded a national highway in the province of Dak Lak, prompting police to block the road and redirect traffic.

In the city of Hue, floods triggered landslides on Sunday in mountainous areas, blocking a major highway that runs from northern to southern Vietnam and cutting off several villages, isolating thousands, while in Quang Ngai province, rainfall of 150 to 235 mm (5.9–9.3 inches) collapsed a bridge over a stream, stranding 1,200 residents in remote hamlets.

On Sunday night, a tornado tore through the southern areas of Danang city and Quang Ngai province, ripping roofs from dozens of houses, uprooting trees and scattering debris.

Vietnam is among the world’s most flood-prone countries, with nearly half its population living in high-risk areas. Scientists warn that a warming climate is intensifying storms and rainfall across Southeast Asia, making floods and landslides increasingly destructive and frequent.

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Landslides block the road on Khanh Le pass, near the location where a passenger bus was buried by a fatal landslide in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Bui Toan/VNExpress via AP)

A passenger bus is crushed by a fatal landslide on Khanh Le pass in Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Minh Bang/VNExpress via AP)

A passenger bus is crushed by a fatal landslide on Khanh Le pass in Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Minh Bang/VNExpress via AP)

Landslides block the road on Khanh Le pass, near the location where a passenger bus was buried by a landslide in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025. (Dang Tuan/VNA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that President Donald Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation's capital, a key step in the project's process.

Commissioners, all appointed by Trump, acted despite overwhelming public opposition to the 250-foot arch, one of several projects that Trump is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington.

“The building is beautiful,” the commission's chairman, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., said shortly before the vote on a design revised slightly from what was presented to the federal agency in April.

The arch would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top of the structure. The statue would be flanked on top by two gilded eagles, but the four lions envisioned as guarding the base are now gone. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All” would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said in April that he preferred the arch without the figures on top, which would have reduced the arch's height by about 80 feet (24.4 meters). Critics of the project argue that the arch would dominate the skyline and disrupt views from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.

The arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall.

Commissioners were told at Thursday's meeting that Trump considered the suggestion to remove the statue “but elected not to pursue such an option.”

McCrery recommended doing away with the lions on the base and objected to plans for an underground tunnel for pedestrians to get to the arch, which would be built on a traffic circle. Both design elements have been removed.

Preliminary surveys and testing of the site began last week.

A group of veterans and a historian have sued the Trump administration in federal court to block construction on grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

The Republican president and his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, have argued that Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch. Burgum's department includes the National Park Service, which manages the plot where Trump wants to put the arch.

The president has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.

Trump's rehab of the Reflecting Pool is also the subject of a court challenge brought by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, which said the administration’s moves to repaint the bottom of the Reflecting Pool blue without first undergoing relevant reviews ran afoul of federal preservation laws governing historic sites.

The nonprofit group argued in a lawsuit filed last week that the changes at the Reflecting Pool are part of Trump’s broader effort to push through dramatic renovations in Washington without proper reviews and undermine the tone of the area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for later Thursday in federal court in Washington.

Flags placed by workers are pictured in the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)