As Cyclone Kajiki makes landfall in Southeast Asia, UNICEF warns of children’s vulnerability to repeated storms

Bangkok, 26 August 2025 – UNICEF is deeply concerned as Cyclone Kajiki sweeps across Southeast Asia, after making landfall in central Viet Nam with powerful winds. Hundreds of thousands of children remain at risk as families are evacuated, schools closed, and shelters prepared. In the coming days, the cyclone is forecast to bring torrential rains and destructive winds into Lao PDR and northern Thailand, with warnings of flash floods and landslides that could disrupt schooling, damage homes, and endanger lives. 

This cyclone comes just over a month after the same communities in central Viet Nam were hit by Cyclone Wipha, and it is already the tenth to strike the region this year. “With disasters striking so often, children and families barely have time to recover before their homes, schools, and sense of safety are disrupted again,” said June Kunugi, UNICEF Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific. “Each new storm compounds the damage of the last, leaving children increasingly vulnerable.”  

UNICEF calls on responders, parents, caregivers, and local authorities to put children’s safety first as Cyclone Kajiki makes landfall. Families are urged to follow trusted information and avoid areas at risk. UNICEF is on standby with pre-positioned supplies to support government efforts in Viet Nam, Lao PDR, and Thailand. 

Children in East Asia and the Pacific now face climate hazards six times more often than their grandparents did. Last year, Typhoon Yagi affected more than six million children through devastating floods and damaged schools; Kajiki now adds to these recurring shocks, heightening risks to children’s health, learning, and wellbeing. 

Link to multimedia: Cyclone Kajiki