Nghe An (VNA) – The General Departmentof Disaster Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment held a training course on dyke protection techniques and floodprevention in the central coastal province of Nghe An on June 21.

According to the National Centre forHydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF), the developments of weather patternsand natural disasters in 2018 will continue to be complicated andunpredictable.

The number of storms and tropical depressions inthe East Sea is forecast to be equal to the average for many years (around12-13 storms per year) and nearly 4-5 storms will directly affect the country’smainland.

This year, to minimize the damage to be causedby natural disasters, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hasasked localities to strengthen the management of dykes and prepare for floodprevention.

Localities should mobilize financial resourcesto handle unexpected incidents before and during the flood season whileupgrading dyke systems to mitigate future damages.

In 2017, the country’s river and sea dyke systemwas seriously damaged by floods and typhoons, especially the over 55km sea dykefrom the northern port city of Hai Phong to the central coastal province ofThua Thien-Hue.

Localities voiced their hope that the Governmentand centrally-run ministries will provide more financial support to help thembuild and upgrade dykes annually to prevent floods and storms effectively.

The Government has issued Resolution 76/NQ-CP onnatural disaster prevention and climate change adaptation with specific goal by2025 of reducing 30 percent of human losses caused by natural disasters withsimilar intensity and scale to those occurring in 2015-2020.

Authorities at all levels, organisations, andhouseholds across the country will receive full information on naturalcalamities, while training courses will be opened for natural disasterprevention forces to provide them with necessary skills.

According to the resolution, among the general solutionsto natural disaster prevention are improving the resilience of infrastructure,reinforcing and upgrading the river and sea dyke systems as well as waterreservoirs and storm shelters, and improving water drainage.

Vietnam is one of the five countries hardest hitby natural disasters. Over the past two decades,natural disasters left over 400 people dead and missing each year,caused economic losses equal to about 1-1.5 percent of GDP, and affectedpeople’s living environment and conditions, as well as socio-economicactivities and sustainable development of the country.  

In 2017, a record number of 16 typhoons and fourlow pressures occurred in the East Sea. The storms claimed the livesof 386 people, damaged more than 600,000 houses and caused economic losses ofabout 60 trillion VND (2.64 billion USD), with the worst typhoons being Doksuriand Damrey. -VNA