Natural disasters left 224 dead and missing in 2018
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| A house teetering on bring following a landslide in the northern city of Hoa Binh after Typhoon Son Tinh hit Vietnam in July 2018. |
According to official statistics at a recent meeting in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said Vietnam recorded 224 persons dead and missing and economic losses of nearly 20 trillion VND in natural disasters in 2018.
Although natural disasters last year were not as severe as in 2017, many serious ones and extreme weather conditions still occurred nationwide.
In the southern region alone, 441 riverbank and coastal erosions with a total length of over 834km caused 10 people dead and missing, injured 13 others, pulled down 320 houses and damaged more than 17,500 others.
At the meeting, UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen said natural disasters and climate change are the issues that require close coordination among ministries and provinces to be dealt with. The Mekong Delta is an example of natural disaster and climate change impact.
She added the UNDP wishes to enhance cooperation with the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the country’s Disaster Management Authority to carry out many activities to help build a more sustainable and prosperous Vietnam.
Highlighting tasks to prepare for the approaching stormy season, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep said southern localities need to accelerate the construction of facilities that are meant to deal with riverbank and coastal erosion; and upgrade sea dykes, bridges.
In a report published earlier by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, due to the impacts of climate change and rising sea levels, natural disasters are predicted to become more unpredictable and extreme. There will be more torrential and unseasonal rain. Storms are expected to hit areas which were less likely to be at risk in the past.
