Hanoi(VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has sent urgent notices to stateagencies and administrations of cities and provinces affected by the tropicaldepression, directing responses to flooding in northern and central Vietnam.
In the face ofserious flooding brought by heavy rains over the past few days and typhoon Khanunwhich freshly emerged in the East Sea, PM Phuc directed the Central SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and local governments,particularly in mountainous provinces, to keep a close watch on the weatherconditions and stay vigilant for any emergency.
He asked authoritiesand military forces of flood-hit provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, Yen Bai andThanh Hoa to continue search for missing people and move those living inmudslide-prone and other at-risk areas to safety.
He urged theprovinces to provide relief to affected families, especially those who lostfamily members or had injured people. Foods and other supplies alongsidetemporary accommodation must be provided to those in need.
[Hoa Binh: 41 died, injured, missing in floods, landslides]
The PM alsorequested the provinces and ministries to take measures to protect dykes anddams; ensure traffic safety at flooded or landslide areas; fix public buildings,roads, irrigation systems damaged in the disasters; and help local residents repairhouses and clean the environment.
The Ministry ofHealth was assigned to provide free treatment to injured people and instructpeople on after-flood cleanup. The Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment is responsible for promptly solving any dyke or dam problems anddischarging floodwater to protect crops.
The Ministry ofIndustry and Trade must direct the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to guaranteesafety of hydropower reservoirs and promptly resolve power-related problems forproduction and daily activities to be quickly resumed, the notice said.
He cancelled a scheduled meeting with voters in Hai PhongCity on October 12, travelling instead to the northern province of Ninh Binh tocheck on local dykes.
Northern mountainous provinces andpart of the central region have been submerged by widespread floods resultingfrom torrential rains on October 10 and 11.
The death toll climbed to 54 as of 22:00 pm on October 12, according to the Central SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.
The fatalities included 14 people in Thanh Hoa, 17 in Hoa Binh, 9 in Nghe An, 6in Son La and Yen Bai provinces each. Thirty-nine others are still missing while31 are injured.-VNA