Hoa Binh (VNA) – The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention andControl held a conference on June 3 in the north-western province of Hoa Binh todiscuss measures to prevent natural disasters in the northern mountainousregion in 2019.
Speaking at theevent, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep, whois also deputy head of the committee, said major natural disasters in 2018nationwide caused 224 people dead or missing, resulting in economic lossesworth nearly 20 trillion VND (855.86 million USD).
According to theofficial, since the start of this year, heavy rains and whirlwinds occurred inmost of the country’s northern mountainous provinces. In the first five months,18 people were reported dead or missing, while six others were injured.
In the pastyear, the Government mobilised nearly 3.38 trillion VND (142.74 million USD)and more than 3,800 tonnes of rice to support localities to promptly overcomeconsequences of natural disasters and recover production.
At the conference,participants discussed issues related to natural disaster prevention andcontrol in the northern mountainous region, and put forward measures to copewith disasters in the coming time.
Authorisedagencies will step up installation of monitoring devices and warning signpostsin high-risk areas. Localities are asked to review places in danger of floodsand report to the Government.
Within theframework of the event, a training course was held to provide guidance on theuse of Facebook in the dissemination of information about natural disasterprevention and control for officials from 18 northern mountainous provinces.
Afterwards, Facebookrepresentatives in Vietnam will continue to join hands with the steeringcommittee to arrange training courses nationwide.-VNA