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Relevant ministries, agencies and localities should carefully make plans for resident evacuation from landslide and flash flood prone areas to safer places in order to minimize the damages caused by storms and floods, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai in a recent national online conference.
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Relevant authorities are urging to upgrade and repair part of Dong (East) dyke in Phuoc Thuan commune, Tuy Phuoc district, to actively deal with natural disasters. Photo N.H
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Unusual calamities
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported that Vietnam usually experiences dozens of storms and tropical low pressures every year. The flash floods and landslide take place in many localities.
The devastating and unpredictable natural calamities cause serious economic damage and significant human loss, infrastructure destruction and ecological environment devastation to the localities, particularly the northern mountainous provinces.
The statistics showed that Vietnam suffered from 96 flash floods between 2000 and 2009, in which 883 were reported dead and missing, 1,500 injured, over 6,000 houses collapsed and 32,000 hectares of rice cultivation devastated. The total loss from natural disasters reached by VND 6 trillion.
In Binh Dinh, there were 2 storms (No.9 and No.11) and frequency of tropical low pressure in 2009 caused heavy casualties and serious economic loss, reported Binh Dinh’s steering board for Flood and Storm Control – Search and Rescue.
The storms and floods claimed 33 lives and left 76 injured. Total economic loss reached by VND 1,332 trillion. The storm No.11 in November 2009 triggered heavy flood in residential areas along the Ha Thanh River at Quy Nhon City and the two districts of Van Canh and Tuy Phuoc.
As a result of global climate change, the La Nina phenomenon occurred more strongly this year, causing unusual calamities. Forecasters have warned of unpredictable 1-2 storms in Binh Dinh, mainly in October and November. The steering board for Flood and Storm Control – Search and Rescue should, thus, pay special attention to the issue with the aim at minimizing the natural disaster damage.
But it is alarming that many irrigation and transportation works in Binh Dinh have shown signs of degradation, the consequences of preceding stormy seasons. The province has 157 water reservoirs with the total capacity of 600 million cubic metres.
Many of them were built in between 1975 and 1985 and have been under management of commune-level Agricultural Cooperatives or People’s Committees.
Because of financial straits, they can’t be upgraded. Moreover, Binh Dinh has great sloping terrain. Most of rivers in the province run west to east. Consequently, flashfloods often take place in stormy season, causing severe damage and human loss.
The statistical data showed that 3,470 households with the total population of 13,634 living along riverside and coastal areas which are prone to landslides and flood-tides, 9,847 households with the total population of 32,204 living in flood-hit areas, and 1,937 people are living in mountainous areas which are vulnerable to the landslide.
Proactive in disaster prevention
Binh Dinh Province People’s Committee announced that the province has the policy of drawing out 21 plans on resettlement of over 3,150 households with more than 14,500 people. 15 of 21 projects have been implemented so far with designed resettlement capacity of 2,268 households and total investment of more than VND 62.2 billion, of which VND 57 billion is from the Central budget and the rest VND 5.235 billion is from the local budget.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should promptly release statistics on residential resettlement projects and prioritize them, instructed the Deputy PM. In the short term, resettlement plans should be immediately carried out by this year’s stormy season. Additionally, he instructed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to soon draft a map of areas in risk of suffering flash floods and landslide.
The Deputy PM also asked the localities to speed up the improvement of flood and storm preventive works, giving a priority to irrigation network, the water reservoirs and the transportation works.
All of the irrigation works which are being repaired or upgraded in 2010 must stand up well to their flood tests at the end of August. The rest downgraded works which haven’t been put in emergency list yet would be temporarily reinforced or stop holding water for sake of passing the flood tests.
The relevant ministries, agencies and localities should promptly finish the resettlement projects to minimize the calamity damage, said Hai.
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