A flooded alley in District 12, HCM City (Source: VNA) Cities have to be ready to adapt to new situations and unexpected developments,ensuring essential services to residents at all times, they add.
Surveys done by the Urban Development Agency under the Construction Ministryhave found cities in mountainous areas particularly vulnerable to naturalcalamities.
In Lao Cai city, capital of Lao Cai province, and Gia Nghia town, Dak Nong provincein the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) region, it was found that transportationfacilities and potable water supply systems were not equipped for emergencysituations.
The studies also found that the early warning systems for storms andflashfloods were not completed in several cities.
In the Tay Nguyen region, urban areas like Gia Nghia have not been able tosupply residents with clean water during prolonged drought, badly affectingdaily life and production.
Urban development plans prepared by local administrations failed to includesolutions for climate change impacts, the agency found.
A similar situation has also been seen in major cities. For instance, HCM Cityhas been suffering flooding on a regular basis because 72 percent of the landarea is lower than sea level. About 12 percent of the city’s residents, 47 percentof them poor, are hit hardest by the flooding.
From 2005-2011, the central city of Da Nang was hit by 14 storms that destroyedabout 15,000 houses and 26,623ha of forests.
According to the Institute for Social and Environment Transition (ISET), about300 coastal urban areas have been suffering climate change impacts, includingflooding, saline intrusion, and big tides; and nearly 150 urban areas in themountainous areas have been affected by land erosion, flash floods, anddrought.
Experts emphasise that not factoring climate change in the urban planningprocess has not just made cities more vulnerable, it has also worsened theimpacts.
In many urban areas, infrastructure development has not kept pace with increasingpopulation. For instance, most areas do not have separate drainage systems forrainwater and wastewater, and in some cases, existing systems are so degradedthat they meet just 60 percent of demand.
“Climate change is unpredictable and variable,” Nguyen Hong Tien, head ofTechnical Infrastructure Department under the Construction Ministrytold Nhan Dan Cuoi Tuan (The People) Weekly.
“Meanwhile, urban cities’ infrastructure works have not been designed and builtto respond to specific natural calamities,” Tien said.
“According to weather experts, new records are likely in terms of temperatureand rainfall as well as frequency of natural calamities in the coming years. Sothe losses suffered will be much worse if preventive measures are notprepared,” he said.
Bach Tan Sinh of the Institute for Science and Technology Strategy and Policysaid there were many shortcomings in getting urban areas adapt to climatechange in Vietnam.
"These include lack of capacity among local administrations, lack ofinvestment and weak knowledge and awareness among both officials and thegeneral public," he said.
"At present, there are no regulations on associating measures of climatechange adaption with the socio-economic development in general and urbandevelopment plans in regular," he added.
Tien called for the development and application of advanced space and remotesensing technologies to get early warnings about natural disasters as well asdevelopment of infrastructure adaptable to climate change impacts, includingnatural disasters.-VNA
VNA
