Joint efforts made to overcome flood consequences

Hanoi (VNA) – Statistics provided by several northern and north central provinces show that by July 24, torrential rains, floods, and landslides left 29 people dead, five others missing, and 26 injured.

Of the dead, 15 were in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, six in the northern mountainous province of Son La, three in the northern midland province of Phu Tho, three in the central province of Thanh Hoa, and the others in the northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Hoa Binh.

Meanwhile, two of the missing people were from Yen Bai, two from Thanh Hoa, another from Phu Tho.

The natural disasters also destroyed and flooded 12,383 houses, killed and swept away 121,389 heads of livestock, and affected 6,208 ha of aquaculture.

The Ministry of Transport’s Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, and Search and Rescue reported that as of 4pm on July 23, traffic jams remained in some sections of national highways in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces due to landslides and flooding.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Department of Crop Production and the localities, as of 7pm on July 23, many areas of rice and other food crops were still inundated, including 42,606 ha of rice in the Red River Delta region.

Nguyen Duc Quang, Deputy Chief of Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, said that timely guidelines, plus the coordination and constructive participation of ministries, agencies, and localities, have helped ease losses caused by natural disasters and can show how to stabilise the life of affected residents.

He did, however, underline the need for more specific weather forecasting in terms of rainfall and the water levels of reservoirs.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control also sent delegations to the localities to inspect the situation, helping protect dykes, especially essential ones.

The provincial steering boards for natural disaster prevention, ad search and rescue also focused on handling the consequences of downpours, floods, and landslides; search and rescue operations; food supply; environmental treatment; post-flood disease prevention; and production restoration, while keeping a close watch on the development of regional weather movements.-VNA