Deputy PM Dung urges better preparation for future flooding

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung asked provinces in central Vietnam and the Central Highlands region to make better preparations, considering it as critical to minimising the damage of flooding.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung

The deputy PM made the request at a conference on December 2 to review work to deal with the issues in the aftermath of flooding over the past year.

The meeting took place at a time when heavy rain and floods are adversely affecting the lives of residents in central provinces, especially Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai, which have been hit the hardest.

Deputy PM Dung urged local authorities in flood-stricken regions to monitor the developments of disasters closely and prepare equipment, food and medicine to support the people.

According to a national committee for disaster prevention, 65 people lost their lives or are still unaccounted for after the two recent spells of flooding, which also damaged nearly 200,000 homes, roads and railways.

Total economic damage was estimated at more than VND7 trillion (US$308 million).

Deputy PM Dung said that in some places, local residents and authorities showed complacency and ill-preparedness in dealing with the natural disasters.

He also pointed out that the flood discharge methods of many reservoirs was unsuitable, causing difficulty for the response in the lower reaches.

At the same time, many reservoirs lacked monitoring equipment, leading to passivity in their operations, furthermore, the cooperation between reservoir operators and local authorities in informing the people of water discharges was limited.

The deputy PM also stated that the response in the aftermath of floods was slow and assistance only met a partial demand of local residents.

In the long term, Deputy PM Dung urged local authorities and relevant ministries to review and supplement the maps of flood-prone zones to work out effective response strategies.