A rice field in An Bien District in the Mekong Delta’s Kien Giang Province was damaged by a shortage of water and salt intrusion (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam needs to improve the quality ofweather forecasting and enhance international co-operation to prepare fornatural disasters, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a meeting held inHanoi on April 17 to review disaster prevention and control in 2016 and lay outtasks for 2017.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong,who is also head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural DisasterPrevention and Control, said, 2016 saw multiple extreme weather phenomena suchas droughts, extreme cold weather, floods and storms, causing losses of 39.72trillion (1.75 billion USD).
"Natural disasters struck from the beginning of the year tothe end of the year, occurring in all regions with many types of naturaldisasters," Cuong said.
Drought and saline intrusion occurred in the Mekong River Delta,south central region and Central Highlands, he said.
Four out of 10 storms in the East Sea hit Vietnam, while tropicaldepressions led to abnormal floods which caused landslides on the banks ofrivers and coastal areas.
Natural disasters in 2016 left 264 people dead or missing, whilemore than 370,000 houses were damaged. Agriculture, aquaculture, road andirrigation system were also affected.
Natural disasters have led to stagnant production and harmed thehealth of people in disaster-prone areas. It was the main reason for the poorperformance of the agricultural sector in the first half of last year,resulting in a decrease in the country’s economic growth, Cuong said.
Despite efforts in flood prevention and minimising damage tohumans and property, he said, there were still shortcomings in the work.
Facilities and equipment to support disaster prevention work werestill limited while staff in agencies often didn’t respond to disasters in atimely fashion, Cuong said.
Besides natural disasters due to extreme weather, he said, therewere some problems relating to reservoirs’ regulations.
"Some reservoirs, when regulating flood discharges are notoperating properly and are increasing risks for the project and downstreamareas," Cuong said.
He asked local authorities to co-ordinate with ministries andagencies to review the operation of reservoirs.
Cuong also requested that inspections be conducted on dyke andirrigation works to ensure the projects safety before this year’s rainy season.
He suggested that the Government assign the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment to co-ordinate ministries, sectors and localities toreview and adjust the inter-reservoir operations.
According to the forecast of the Natural Central forHydro-Meterology Forecasting, the weather in 2017 will be complicated withtemperatures likely to be higher than the average of previous years, especiallyin the north.
Some 13-15 storms and tropical depressions are predicted to occurduring the rainy season.
Given the difficulty in predicting natural disasters, PM Phucasked agencies and localities to re-examine disaster patterns to deviseprevention solutions while strengthening disaster control projects.
He called for more campaigns to raise public awareness of disastermitigation.
As one of the five countries most affected by climate change, itis necessary for Vietnam to improve the awareness of the local government andpeople as well on the issue, PM Phuc stressed.-VNA
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong,who is also head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural DisasterPrevention and Control, said, 2016 saw multiple extreme weather phenomena suchas droughts, extreme cold weather, floods and storms, causing losses of 39.72trillion (1.75 billion USD).
"Natural disasters struck from the beginning of the year tothe end of the year, occurring in all regions with many types of naturaldisasters," Cuong said.
Drought and saline intrusion occurred in the Mekong River Delta,south central region and Central Highlands, he said.
Four out of 10 storms in the East Sea hit Vietnam, while tropicaldepressions led to abnormal floods which caused landslides on the banks ofrivers and coastal areas.
Natural disasters in 2016 left 264 people dead or missing, whilemore than 370,000 houses were damaged. Agriculture, aquaculture, road andirrigation system were also affected.
Natural disasters have led to stagnant production and harmed thehealth of people in disaster-prone areas. It was the main reason for the poorperformance of the agricultural sector in the first half of last year,resulting in a decrease in the country’s economic growth, Cuong said.
Despite efforts in flood prevention and minimising damage tohumans and property, he said, there were still shortcomings in the work.
Facilities and equipment to support disaster prevention work werestill limited while staff in agencies often didn’t respond to disasters in atimely fashion, Cuong said.
Besides natural disasters due to extreme weather, he said, therewere some problems relating to reservoirs’ regulations.
"Some reservoirs, when regulating flood discharges are notoperating properly and are increasing risks for the project and downstreamareas," Cuong said.
He asked local authorities to co-ordinate with ministries andagencies to review the operation of reservoirs.
Cuong also requested that inspections be conducted on dyke andirrigation works to ensure the projects safety before this year’s rainy season.
He suggested that the Government assign the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment to co-ordinate ministries, sectors and localities toreview and adjust the inter-reservoir operations.
According to the forecast of the Natural Central forHydro-Meterology Forecasting, the weather in 2017 will be complicated withtemperatures likely to be higher than the average of previous years, especiallyin the north.
Some 13-15 storms and tropical depressions are predicted to occurduring the rainy season.
Given the difficulty in predicting natural disasters, PM Phucasked agencies and localities to re-examine disaster patterns to deviseprevention solutions while strengthening disaster control projects.
He called for more campaigns to raise public awareness of disastermitigation.
As one of the five countries most affected by climate change, itis necessary for Vietnam to improve the awareness of the local government andpeople as well on the issue, PM Phuc stressed.-VNA
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