Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on people to stay vigilant and play a more active role in response to natural disasters. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi(VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on October 30 conveyed a message tomark the 20th year of devastating Typhoon Linda – the worst tostrike the Mekong Delta in 100 years, in which he called on people to stayvigilant and play a more active role in response to natural disasters.
The powerful,unexpected and unusual Typhoon No.5, also known as Linda, tore through theMekong Delta, rarely hit by storms, during the night of November 2, 1997, PMPhuc said in the message.
The typhoon causedheavy losses of life and severe property damages, especially for Ca Mau province,he recalled, adding that thousands of fishermen and boats sank at sea whilemany houses and regional infrastructure were destroyed.
Two decades later,the pain of families who lost kith and kin in the storm is still there and onbehalf of the government, Phuc extends his deepest condolences and sympathiesto all affected people. He also acknowledges the efforts made by soldiers anddisaster response forces in providing relief to the victims.
The PM went on tosay that natural disasters have become much more complicated and hard to bepredicted in recent years while climate change impacts, forest degradation incoastal protected areas, erosion and sea level rise are among factorsincreasing vulnerability when natural disasters hit the delta.
“As lessons learntfrom Typhoon Linda, I call on people, soldiers and disaster response forcesnationwide, including from the Mekong Delta, to be vigilant, get prepared forand proactive in response to natural disasters so as to minimize losses,” hewrote.
Natural disasters inVietnam have killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of houses,causing an economic loss of over 35 trillion VND (1.54 billion USD) since thebeginning of this year.
According to the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, heavy rains and floods on August 2-3 andOctober 9-10 in Thanh Hoa, Hoa Binh, Yen Bai and Son La provinces left 91people dead or missing and 356 houses completely damaged or lost. It estimatedtotal property losses at over 8.5 trillion VND (377.7 million USD).-VNA
VNA
