Accordingly, the support sourced from the central budget reserve in 2020 will be distributed to five localities, including Nghe An (VND1.26 billion), Ha Tinh (VND8.43 billion), Quang Binh (VND4.89 billion), Quang Nam (VND69.81 billion) and Binh Dinh (VND4.72 billion).
The distribution has been prescribed in the Government's Resolution No. 165/NQ-CP dated November 5, 2020, on supporting funding to compensate severe housing damage caused by natural disasters in October 2020 in some localities in the central region and the Central Highlands.
* On January 5, a mission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development inspected post-disaster agricultural production in Ha Tinh. As of January 4, the province has planted 10,342 trees of all kinds (reaching 95.5% of the set plan).
The mission highly appreciated the province in proactively arranging and balancing enough seeds to ensure the plans in winter-spring crop production. Local farmers have actively converted their inundated crops into upland ones to meet consumer demand.
* A new strong cold spell will begin affecting the northern and central regions from January 7-12, with snow and frost forecast to appear in northern mountainous provinces, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
The most affected provinces include Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan and Lang Son, with temperatures even dropping below 0C in high mountainous areas.
The Gulf of Tonkin, the waters off the coast of the central and southern regions are forecast to experience strong winds with sea waves of up to 3-5m, while the high tide is predicted to hit the central and southern localities in the next ten days.
The dropping temperature will cause frost and snow in high mountain areas, while strong winds at sea and high tides threaten to cause landslides in coastal localities.
On January 5, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the National Committee for Natural Disaster Response, and Search and Rescue asked steering committees for natural disaster response, search and rescue of northern and central localities, and coastal provinces, and relevant ministries and sectors to proactively prepare response measures.
Focus will be given to implementing safety measures for the elderly, children, and students, and cold prevention solutions to animals and plants.
The steering committees for natural disaster prevention and control and search and rescue of coastal provinces and cities from Quang Ninh to Kien Giang are required to inform and guide ship owners and captains of boats to move ashore or shelter in safe areas, and to make appropriate adjustments to their production plans to ensure safety.
Attention will be also paid to inspecting and implementing safety measures for residential areas and coastal construction works.
