Many hectares of rice fields in the Mekong Delta were damaged due to the recent serious drought (Photo: VNA) Kien Giang (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is considering all necessary measures to tackle natural disasters, said a local official.
Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Anh Nhin pointed to such shortcomings in the field as failing to anticipate the consequences of recent drought and saltwater intrusion and ineffective communication campaigns.
He urged departments to strengthen the organisation of the Steering Committee for natural disasters prevention and search and rescue at all levels, while building plans for areas that are prone to natural disasters.
It is essential to improve natural disaster prevention, he said, suggesting improving search and rescue capacity in the mainland and at sea.
He recommended upgrading drainage and salinity intrusion prevention systems and speeding up key projects such as building storm shelters for ships and upgrading sea dykes.
According to the provincial Steering Committee for natural disasters prevention and search and rescue, natural disasters and maritime accidents caused economic loss of more than 2.3 trillion VND (103.5 million USD) in 2015 and in the first five months of this year, making up over 30 percent of the local 2016 budget collection plan (over 6.2 trillion VND or 279 million USD). 52 people died, nine remained missing, and 36 others were injured.
The recent drought and saltwater intrusion damaged 86,230 hectares of rice fields and nearly 13,450 hectares of shrimp breeding area.-VNA
