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Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has called on all localities nationwide to continue lending a helping hand to the central region which is struggling against torrential rains and severe floods and is likely to be affected by typhoon Megi, currently off the East Sea.
The Government leader on Oct. 18 held an on-line meeting with authorities of coastal provinces from Quang Ninh in the north to Khanh Hoa in the central region, discussing ways and means to deal with flood consequences and counter the upcoming storm.
Hai noted that as typhoon Megi was moving fast in a complex direction with its landfall not yet identified, coastal localities from Quang Ninh to Khanh Hoa needed to stay alert round the clock and deploy responsive measures appropriately.
He asked these coastal localities to promptly prepare detailed plans to evacuate local people, especially those living at the river mouth and in coastal areas, once Megi arrives.
According to the National Flood and Storm Prevention and Combating Steering Committee, by 19:00 on October 17, severe floods had killed 30 people and left one missing in central provinces . Ha Tinh province was hard hit with 13 dead.
Floods submerged 152,000 houses, stranded district and provincial transport networks, devastated dyke systems and inundated a vast area grown with rice and subsidiary crops.
Also on Oct. 8, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent an urgent message to ministries and branches at all levels, asking for continued efforts to overcome flood consequences in central region.
He asked People’s Committees of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh to look for missing people and deploy relief work while requesting coastal provinces and cities from Quang Ninh to Khanh Hoa being in preparedness to respond to typhoon Megi.
Earlier on Oct. 17, PM Dung asked the Finance Ministry to immediately provide 100 million VND each to Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces to surmount consequences of the previous floods.
He also requested that the National Reserves Department allocate an additional 1,000 tonnes of rice to each of the two provinces.
On Oct. 18, Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh sent a message to express his sympathy to Party committees at all levels, authorities, local people and soldiers in central provinces .
In his message, the Party chief asked the Party committees and authorities of the flood-hit localities to concentrate all resources to protect local people and their property and minimize any losses they may suffer.
He urged these localities to quickly take measures to prevent damage and fight typhoon Megi when it hits the country, along with preparing plans to prevent diseases that may emerge after floods and help local people stabilize their lives.
In support, Vietnamese communities in Germany and Finland raised more than 5,000 EUR to assist flood-hit peers in the central region.
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