Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang (C) speaks at the conference (Photo: VNA) Chairing a conference summing up natural disasterprevention and control, and search and rescue works last year and puttingforward key tasks for 2024 held in Hanoi on January 24, Quang requested theNational Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control toproactively carry out its task to minimise damage to people and property.
Ministries and localities must maintain theprinciple ‘prevention is better than cure’. They must provide timelyinformation and instructions to people, including by phone messages, so peoplecan protect themselves, and actively participate in the work of preventing,combating and overcoming natural disaster consequences.
The Deputy PM required ministries andsectors to strengthen international cooperation to learn from experience andcall for external resources.
Science and technology should be furtherapplied to improve the prevention effectiveness and quick recovery afternatural disasters.
From the beginning of 2023 to January 10this year, the country suffered more than 5,300 disasters, killing 924 people,injuring 977, and leaving more than 200 others missing. As many as 1,740factories and market kiosks were affected, while 1,346ha of forest weredestroyed.
Disasters also damaged 15,977 houses, 115kmof dikes, embankments and canals, more than 700 irrigation works and nearly 200temporary bridges.
They swept away more than 151,200ha of riceand crops, damaged more than 3,500ha of aquaculture area, and killed over75,000 cattle and poultry heads.
Economic losses due to natural disasterstotalled about 8.2 trillion VND (332 million USD).
During the period, ministries andlocalities assigned 204,500 people and more than 23,100 vehicles to cope withnatural disasters.
Ministries and localities moved more than962,000 people and over 201,000 vehicles to safe places.
They instructed 328,227 ships with morethan 1.6 million fishermen to proactively avoid storms and tropicaldepressions./.
VNA
