Exactly ten years ago, on April 6, 2016, residents in Hà Tĩnh began observing a mass fish die-off along their coastline. The devastation first appeared near the Vũng Áng industrial zone in Kỳ Anh before rapidly spreading southward to the provinces of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, and Thừa Thiên–Huế.

This event marked the beginning of the largest environmental disaster in Việt Nam’s history. Lasting until September 2016, the crisis severely crippled the livelihoods of fishermen and salt farmers, decimated the tourism sector, and damaged the broader economies of the affected provinces.