Int’l Day for Disaster Risk Reduction marked in Thanh Hoa

Thanh Hoa (VNA) – A meeting took place in Sam Son city, the north central province of Thanh Hoa, on October 13 to mark International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and release the World Disaster Report 2019.

The event, co-held by the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, was an opportunity for the community to have a broader view of today’s world which is facing many risks and challenges.

 

It aimed to foster strengthened collaboration among local governments, departments and agencies in response to and mitigation of natural disasters as well as adaption to climate change.

After the event, a commune-based rapid response team of Sam Son city organised a disaster preparedness exercise during which it had to deal with a number of emergency situations before a storm hits the city.

President of VRSC Central Committee Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu said apart from providing training on disaster preparedness and response, the VRSC has supported 585 communes and wards of 36 cities and provinces to build safe communities and carry out disaster risk intervention through a number of activities, such as building storm shelters, safe schools, safe emergency evacuation routes and drainage.

Last year, the organisation provided aid for severe flood-hit families in the provinces of Yen Bai, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Son La and Khanh Hoa. It also sent personnel and relief aid to help Lao people recover from the collapse of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in Attapeu.

The VRSC supported more than 960,000 disaster-affected people with total aid worth about 249.5 billion VND (10.73 million USD)./.