A nationwide online meeting to review the 2010 flood and storm control, search and rescue and to create an action plan for the 2011 was held on March 31. Vice Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai directed relevant ministries, authorities and localities to quickly prepare plans of the flood and storm control, search and rescue in order to minimize the natural disaster effects.
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La Tinh irrigation system at Phu My district, Binh Dinh province is being upgraded in reparation for the coming storm season.
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* Climate change causes unpredictable weather pattern
Vietnam encountered nearly tens of storms, floods and tropical low pressures; flash floods, devastating floods, land slides in 2010, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat at the online meeting. These natural disasters were devastating, causing great damages and human losses, destroying infrastructure and ecological environment, particularly at the coastal central region.
273 people reported dead, 96 others missing, 491 others killed in the floods and storms all over the country in 2010, reported the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control – Search and Rescue; 6,060 houses were demolished, destroyed or drifted; 472,063 houses were damaged or blown up their roofs; 308,216 hectares of rice fields and cultivated land were destroyed; more than 156.34 million cubic metres of rocks and stones, of transport and irrigation works were blown off, etc. The natural disaster caused 16,064 billion VND in damages.
Many countries all over the world have recently faced earthquakes, tsunamis which wrought extensive and severe destruction and human losses. In such situation, Vietnam should urgently prepare for the natural disaster control.
Binh Dinh province experienced heavy rains and big floods in 2010, claimed 11 lives, left 1 missing and 6 others injured, caused 836 billion VND in damages, reported the provincial committee for Flood and Storm Control – Search and Rescue.
The National Hydrometeorology Centre warned that the weather pattern in 2011 would become unusual and unpredictable because of impacts of the climate change. The floods and storms would take place in more frequent manner with more severe destruction. They would appear changeably, out of normal patterns in term of time and place. Vietnam would probably face 5-6 big storms in which 1-2 would hit Binh Dinh. Most of them would be very complicated and would take place at the end of this year. Hence, all of the relevant authorities should make detail action plans to protect the human lives and properties, minimize the impacts of the natural disaster.
Meanwhile, many irrigation and transport works in Binh Dinh starts to be downgraded. Binh Dinh has 156 reservoirs with total capacity of 600 million cubic metres. All of them locate upstream. Many were built a long time ago and are seriously dilapidated. If they collapse, they will cause great destruction to the lower section. Moreover, Binh Dinh has very sloping terrain with all big rivers flowing from west to east. The province has 145.9 kilometres of dykes and 76 anti-salt dykes. Nearly 40% of the dykes are reinforced. The rest has potential threats.
* Proactive in the natural disaster control and minimize its impact
At the meeting, the authorities discussed on the shortcomings of the natural disaster control- search and rescue in their localities. Some of the localities didn’t prepare well the plans of the natural disaster control – search and rescue under the so-called formula “4 at-sites”. When the natural disasters happened, they were still passive in evacuating local residents, in searching and rescuing victims; tools for the natural disaster control – search and rescue mission were still rudimentary.
In order to perform the mission successfully in 2011, Vice Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai asked all of the local governments to understand thoroughly a principle “Proactive in prevention and control; timely, promptly and efficiently response” so that the effects of the natural disaster could be minimized. The local governments should pay considerable attention to improvement of early warning systems and forecast systems. All of the local committees of the flood and storm control- search and rescue should be consolidated.
The vice prime minister directed Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to promptly check the reservoirs and irrigations all over the country. The dilapidated works should be funded timely for the repair. Ministry of Industry and Trade should carry out its regular examination to flood discharge of all of the hydroelectric lakes in order to ensure safety of the lower regions. Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment should draw maps of flash flood-prone areas and landslide-prone areas soon, give early warnings about earthquakes and tsunamis, speed up its task of marking off the flash flood and landslide areas. All of the localities nationwide should hasten their repairs of the flood and storm control works, in which the irrigation systems and reservoirs, the transportation works are in the top priorities. The irrigation works which will be upgraded in 2011 must pass all of the flood tests.
Furthermore, the relevant authorities and local governments should finish soon their plans of resident evacuation and resettlement out of the landslide-and-flood-hit areas to safer shelters. Residents at low lands, coastal lands or at islands should be evacuated either. Rehearsals on the flood and storm control-search and rescue missions should be held. All aims to minimize the impacts of the natural disasters.
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