Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has demanded the rapid finalisation of a draft Resolution outlining recovery measures for areas ravaged by recent storms and floods in central and Central Highlands regions.
During a fundraising campaign in Hanoi on November 24 in support of communities hit by storms and floods, PM Chinh, joined by Government officials, the Cabinet’s Party Committee, advisory units and staff from the Government Office, observed a minute’s silence for victims of deadly floods before everyone pledged at least one day’s salary to relief efforts.
Central Vietnam has been hammered since early November by a string of extreme weather events, including Typhoon No. 13 and record-breaking rainfall in many areas, marking one of the country’s worst natural disasters in recent years and inflicting heavy casualties, property damage, disruption to production and trade, and wrecking infrastructure across the central and Central Highlands regions, with Khanh Hoa, Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Lam Dong among the hardest hit.
In response, the PM issued a number of urgent directives and chaired meetings instructing ministries, agencies and localities to prepare early and act decisively with the highest level of readiness. Working groups led by the PM and Deputy PMs were dispatched to hard-hit areas to oversee emergency measures, while each Deputy PM was responsible for specific affected areas. Even during his recent overseas trip, the PM convened virtual meetings with domestic authorities to steer real-time response and recovery operations.
Despite these efforts, damage from Typhoon No.13 and ensuing floods remains staggering. Preliminary data from November 16 onward showed 102 people dead or missing across just four provinces, 332 homes completely destroyed, 933 others damaged, more than 82,000 ha of rice and crops submerged, over 3.3 million livestock and poultry lost, and 1,120 ha of aquaculture wiped out. Landslides have severed key transport routes and crippled critical infrastructure, with initial economic losses pegged above 13 trillion VND (500 million USD).
The fundraising event collected 525 million VND for storm-hit communities./.
