HÀ NỘI -- Deputy Prime Minister Trần Hồng Hà signed an official dispatch on Monday, asking ministries, sectors, and localities to launch emergency response efforts as severe flooding has battered the central region.
The Government's call to action addresses local officials in Quảng Trị Province, Huế City, Đà Nẵng City, and Quảng Ngãi Province, as well as relevant ministries, instructing them to drastically carry out measures to ensure safety for both vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure.
Chairpersons of the People's Committees of the localities must keep close tabs on and conduct thorough assessments of areas at risk of flash floods and landslides. Along with providing timely evacuations and adequate shelters for affected residents, they must arrange personnel to regulate traffic flows and deploy relief resources, especially in areas that may be isolated due to landslides and deluge.
Due attention must be paid to providing food, water, medicine, and other essential supplies for flood-hit residents. The Government also called for prompt restoration of critical services once the floodwaters recede. Emergency efforts should focus on cleaning, disinfecting, and preventing the spread of diseases, along with rebuilding homes and supporting agricultural production. Authorities must also ensure that students can return to school safely and that health services are available to communities in need.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is responsible for overseeing flood forecasting, and ensuring the safety of fishing boats operating at sea, as well as the integrity of flood control infrastructure and agricultural production.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Construction is in charge of directing efforts to protect roads and repair damaged ones, maintaining smooth and safe traffic flow in key transport routes. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is tasked with safeguarding hydroelectric dams, electrical system integrity, and industrial production while minimising flood damage.
The ministries of National Defence and Public Security must be fully prepared to assist local authorities in evacuation efforts, disaster response, and search and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, Việt Nam's major media outlets - the Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television (VTV) and the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) - are tasked with providing timely and accurate updates for the public, alongside guidance on how to manage flooding, landslides, and other natural hazards.
The central region is currently experiencing intense rainfall, causing unprecedented flooding along the rivers in Huế and Đà Nẵng. According to Associate Professor Dr. Mai Văn Khiêm, Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, this extreme weather is due to a combination of cold front at low altitudes, a tropical convergence zone moving from the south, and moist easterly winds from one thousand five hundred to five thousand metres above sea level.
Forecasts indicate that severe weather will persist through October 29, bringing heavy rainfall from Quảng Trị to Quảng Ngãi provinces, with average precipitation ranging from two hundred to five hundred millimetres and even exceeding eight hundred millimetres in several areas. -- VNA/VNS