UNDP supports Vietnam to improve tsunami response capacity

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control organised a tsunami response rehearsal for nearly 500 students and teachers in Tam Ky City, Quang Nam Province, on November 2.

Students participate in the rehearsal.
Students participate in the rehearsal.

The rehearsal took place on Saturday morning (Nov. 2) at Thai Phien Secondary School, Tam Ky City, with the participation of local students, teachers and representatives from the Committee, the UNDP, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the coastal districts of Quang Nam.

The drill is part of a media campaign named “Son Tinh's School”, which aims to improve tsunami response in local Vietnamese schools.

School drills have been shown to be very effective in reducing the impact of tsunamis and other natural disasters, said Sitara Syed, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Vietnam. It is important not to be subjective with this type of disaster, and especially to have a tsunami response plan at schools, she suggested.

The "Son Tinh's School" campaign is a part of UNDP’s regional project sponsored by the Japanese Government which contributes to raising the awareness of tsunami at local schools in 18 countries in the Asia Pacific, including Vietnam.

The project helps achieve the goals under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, to reduce the number of deaths, the number of people affected, and the economic damage caused by natural and human hazards. It also aims to achieve UNDP's goal to help vulnerable regions adapt to climate change by incorporating disaster risk reduction measures into national strategies.

In 2018, with the support of the Japanese Government, the UNDP and the Vietnamese Central Steering Committee on Disaster Prevention and Control successfully implemented training courses and drills to raise risk awareness on tsunami and natural disasters for more than 5,500 students and teachers in five schools in four coastal provinces of Vietnam.

Previously, on November 1, the UNDP coordinated with the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA) to hold a seminar in Quang Nam on strengthening partnership and improving the capacity in tsunami prevention and response in Vietnam.

Since 2017, the VNDMA has coordinated with localities to formulate and organise a communication campaign on safety against tsunami risks. Tsunamis are one of the only types of natural disasters that have not yet occurred in Vietnam, however, when they happen, they can cause great damage.