A severe flood hit Bùi Xá Village in Hà Nội’s Chương Mỹ District in July.— VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn ThắngViet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Natural disasters have killed 218 people and caused a total loss of VNĐ20 trillion (US$860 million) to the country this year. Although the number of fatalities and damage was much lower than both in 2016 and 2017, natural disasters have still caused serious destruction to the country this year. Nguyễn Xuân Cường, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development cum head of the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disasters Prevention and Control, made the statement at a meeting yesterday. The meeting was organised to summarise the achievements and failures of natural-disaster management this year as well as setting tasks for next year. Statistics from the ministry showed that natural disasters killed 386 people and caused damage of nearly VNĐ60 trillion … [Read more...] about Natural disasters kill 218, cost VN $860m
Natural disasters
People helped to be proactive against natural disasters: PM
Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked competent agencies and forces to issue more warnings and instructions to help local residents take proactive measures against natural disasters. He issued a telegraph requesting ministries and committees concerned to focus on rebuilding efforts after torrential downpour triggered by a tropical depression caused big losses in humans and property in the south-central region, especially Khanh Hoa province on November 18. He asked the people’s committees of these provinces and Khanh Hoa province to search for missing people, treat the injured, support families of the deceased, and provide shelters and food for those in affected areas. The leader asked competent agencies and forces to continue examining areas prone to landslides and flash flood so they can proactively evacuate local people to safer places as the weather forecasting agency said rains and floods may be occurring … [Read more...] about People helped to be proactive against natural disasters: PM
Japan shares experience in natural disaster mitigation
Damage caused by a storm in Lao Cai last October (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) –The application of policies and advanced technologies from Japan towards reducing the damage caused by floods and landslides was highlighted at a seminar held in Hanoi on November 9 by the Vietnam Disaster Management Authority (VDMA) in collaboration with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The event is significant for disaster prevention and mitigation in Vietnam. As a country hard-hit by natural calamities, Japan spent an average of 1.2 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to 60 billion USD during the 2010-2016 period, on the implementation of disaster prevention, response, recovery, and rehabilitation programmes. According to Yusuke Sakai, a representative from Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, the construction of sabo dams – a leading model in channels for debris flow control – is one of … [Read more...] about Japan shares experience in natural disaster mitigation
Delta improves locals’ ability to respond to natural disasters
Viet Nam News HCM CITY — As many as 300 people from 60 households living in disaster- and climate change-affected areas in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta are benefiting from an organic vegetable model which is part of a two-year capacity-building project. A seminar held in HCM City on Wednesday reviewed the 545,800 euro (US$626,580) project, which prepares locals torespond to natural disasters caused by climate change. From December 2016 to the end of the year, the project was conducted by the Aid for Social Protection Programme Foundation in Việt Nam (AFV) with funds from the Bread for the World (BfdW) and ActionAid International Việt Nam (AAV). Six localities in Trà Vinh Province’s Trà Vinh City and Sóc Trăng Province’s Kế Sách District are taking part in the project. Bùi Bá Bình, deputy head of AFV, said the project had improved the life of vulnerable communities, especially women and youth from … [Read more...] about Delta improves locals’ ability to respond to natural disasters
Vietnam, Japan building satellite for natural disaster prevention
They have begun preparatory steps in Japan to produce LOTUSat-1 as part of the Natural Disaster and Climate Change Prevention project undertaken by the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), the Japan International Cooperation Agency said Thursday. The satellite will use a sensor that uses radio waves to observe the Earth, and thus functions independently of a light source. That means it can function 24x7, a clear advantage over satellites using optical sensors, which can only function in daylight. It could take 36 months to build LOTUSat-1, but the launch schedule has yet to be fixed since there are many factors to be considered, Vu Anh Tuan of the VNSC said. But he said that, typically, it takes six to 12 months for a satellite of this kind to be launched. Once the satellite is in orbit, it would cover the whole of Vietnam and help reduce damage caused by natural disasters by 10 percent, he said. The time it takes Vietnam to retrieve images of a specific location would also be reduced … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Japan building satellite for natural disaster prevention