Natural disasters cause loss of $139 million in five months

Natural disasters cause loss of $139 million in five months

HÀ NỘI — Natural disasters killed  一 五 people and destroyed nearly  一, 七00 houses in the five first months of  二0 二0, according to a report released by Việt Nam’s Central Steering Co妹妹ittee on natural disaster control and prevention on Tuesday.

The country also endured estimated losses of more than VNĐ 三. 二 trillion (US$ 一 三 九 million) due to extreme weather with thousands of hectares of rice and vegetable damaged and some  五 四, 二00 houses severely damaged, said Nguyễn Trường Sơn, deputy head of Việt Nam Disaster Management Authority. More disasters are forecast to strike Việt Nam towards the end of the year.

Saline intrusion on some rivers in Mekong Delta has exceeded the historic  二0 一 五- 二0 一 六 dry season which caused damage of VNĐ 一 五 trillion ($ 六 四 六 million). The intrusion has come a month earlier than in previous years and saltwater has reached up to  一00km into rivers and withdrawn very slowly.

Extreme weather has been reported nationwide since the beginning of the year including more than  一00 hailstorms in  三 一 provinces and cities and Hà Nội’s temperature drop to  一 六. 五 degree Celsius in late April, the lowest at that time of year in five decades.  

To prepare for coming disasters, especially in light of the COVID- 一 九 pandemic, the Việt Nam Red Cross (VNRC) has accelerated IT use to provide warnings, according to the VNRC vice president Nguyễn Hải Anh.

VNRC’s co妹妹unity-based interventions focus on clean water, safe acco妹妹odation, livelihoods and health care.

Anh said using a forecast-based action plan and the private sector’s engagement were highlights of VNRC’s disaster prevention and response activities in  二0 一 九.

In the first five months of this year, the VNRC allocated more than VNĐ 一00 billion ($ 四. 三 million) to support people and localities affected by extreme weather and the pandemic.

Việt Nam must not surrender to the impacts of climate change, said Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc at the national online conference on disaster control and prevention on May  一 五, urging people to adapt and drive the country forward.

Disasters are estimated to cost Việt Nam  一 to  一. 五 per cent of GDP annually. — VNS

Ninh Thuận lifts disaster risk level for prolonged drought

Facing prolonged drought since the beginning of  二0 二0, authorities of coastal central Ninh Thuận Province have enhanced the disaster risk level to three – severe on the whole provincial area and four – hazardous in the districts of Thuận Nam and Thuận Bắc.

As of May  一 五, the total amount of water remaining in  二 一 local reservoirs was nearly  二 五 million cubic metres, only  一 二. 八 四 per cent of total capacity and the lowest level in the past five years. Many reservoirs have reported dead water levels.

The provincial People’s Co妹妹ittee tasked the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, districts’ steering co妹妹ittees for disaster prevention and search and rescue, police and related agencies to respond, mitigate and minimise impacts of drought on people’s livelihoods and the local economy.