The USAID Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and Vietnam Red Cross Society jointly held a seminar on March 1 to evaluate the current situation and propose solutions to reduce the risk of natural disasters in Thua Thien-Hue central province.
The seminar is part of the project “Increasing Emergency Preparedness and Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities in Central Vietnam” funded by OFDA through Save the Children in Vietnam (SCiV). The project, which lasted from April, 2012 to March this year, focused on 20 communes in three disaster prone districts – Quang Dien, Phu Loc and Phu Vang in Thua Thien-Hue.
According to Tran Van Nhan, the director of the project’s steering committee, the province is affected by floods and storms every year, and that is why it is important to have solutions to prevent and reduce the risk of natural disasters.
With the help of the project, localities in the province have focused on strengthening their capacity to respond to disasters; improving community preparedness through the participation of adults and children, enhancing public awareness, and changing the behaviour of the community.
An action group was founded and trained to encourage the masses to take part in different activities, evaluate the vulnerability of each area, and draw a disaster risk map. An action plan, early warning system and other small scale preventative solutions were also part of the project.
The first phase of the project was successful, and coordination with local authorities was good, especially in drawing local people and students to participate.
However, according to experts, reducing the risk of disasters should be included in the local socio-economic development plan. The local authority should improve its early warning system, cooperate with the education sector and Red Cross Society at all levels to raise social awareness of the issue.-VNA
The seminar is part of the project “Increasing Emergency Preparedness and Resilience of Vulnerable Coastal Communities in Central Vietnam” funded by OFDA through Save the Children in Vietnam (SCiV). The project, which lasted from April, 2012 to March this year, focused on 20 communes in three disaster prone districts – Quang Dien, Phu Loc and Phu Vang in Thua Thien-Hue.
According to Tran Van Nhan, the director of the project’s steering committee, the province is affected by floods and storms every year, and that is why it is important to have solutions to prevent and reduce the risk of natural disasters.
With the help of the project, localities in the province have focused on strengthening their capacity to respond to disasters; improving community preparedness through the participation of adults and children, enhancing public awareness, and changing the behaviour of the community.
An action group was founded and trained to encourage the masses to take part in different activities, evaluate the vulnerability of each area, and draw a disaster risk map. An action plan, early warning system and other small scale preventative solutions were also part of the project.
The first phase of the project was successful, and coordination with local authorities was good, especially in drawing local people and students to participate.
However, according to experts, reducing the risk of disasters should be included in the local socio-economic development plan. The local authority should improve its early warning system, cooperate with the education sector and Red Cross Society at all levels to raise social awareness of the issue.-VNA
