Severe drought in the Central Highlands (Photo :VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Competent authorities should work to raise publicawareness as well as improve their forecasting capacity against naturaldisasters in the context of extreme and unpredictable climate change, PartyGeneral Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong said in a letter penned forthe 72nd anniversary of the Traditional Day on Natural Disaster Prevention (May22).
Speaking at a ceremony held in Hanoi on May 22 to mark the event, DeputyMinister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep described thepreparedness against natural calamities as a primary mission for the wholeyear, and asked relevant organisations to raise citizens’ awareness of the workto ensure safety during flood seasons.
Information technology should be deployed to disseminate necessary informationto the community, he said, stressing that it is crucial to prevent naturaldisasters and mitigate their consequences.
Within the framework of the ceremony, the Central Steering Committee forNatural Disaster Prevention and Control and the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) rolled out a flood-resilient housing design contest.
Previously, the steering committee had also launched the National Week for Natural Disaster Preparedness andControl in Hai Phong city on May 14, aiming to encourage all-level authorities,organisations and people to stand ready for disaster combat.
The communications work has been prioritised with a focus on vulnerable groupslike the elderly, people with disabilities, women, children, and ethnicminority people.
The increasing intensity and devastation of natural disasters have leftcritical losses of human life and assets in Vietnam, thus badly affecting locallivelihoods as well as the country’s sustainable development.
Vietnam recorded historic calamities in 2016 with prolonged drought and salineintrusion in the Mekong Delta region, and floods in the central region thatcaused economic damage worth more than 39.7 trillion VND (1.69 billion USD).Meanwhile, natural disasters left 264 people dead and missing, and cost thecountry some 60 trillion VND in economic losses.
Although natural disasters in 2018 were not as fierce as those in the previoustwo years, they still left 224 people dead and missing, as well as caused 20trillion VND in economic losses. –VNA
VNA
