2019 Volume 75 Issue 2 Pages I_73-I_78
Typhoon Linda in 1997 is considered to be the worst tropical cyclone ever to make landfall in the Mekong Delta, Southern Vietnam. Linda caused catastrophic social impact with over 3,000 fatalities and US$385 million in property loss. The fatalities were mostly fishermen and sailors who were caught at sea in Linda’s path and unable to escape. There is little information about Linda because of the lack of a detailed post-disaster investigation. In this study, we conducted an interview survey with local residents of Con Dao Island, where Linda passed nearby, to reveal how this historical disaster event remains in their memory. A numerical simulation using the coupled typhoon, storm surge, and wind-wave model was also performed to investigate the spatial extent of the storm surge and high waves during Linda’s passage. The results showed that the storm tide was not necessarily extreme, but reached 1.5 m in the delta. In comparison, waves off the Mekong Delta were estimated to be 8 m high, which appears sufficient to capsize many wooden fishing boats.
