Hoang Mai Town: Reviewing vulnerable areas, responding to floods

(Baonghean) - To proactively cope with the 2014 storm season, Hoang Mai Town has been proactively focusing on reviewing vulnerable areas; checking and assessing the actual traffic and bridge systems; directing wards and communes to develop a 2014 storm and flood prevention plan suitable to local conditions, in order to minimize the impact caused by storms and floods.

Comrade Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the province inspected storm prevention and control work at Vuc Mau lake, July 2014. Photo: AN

Despite proactively preventing and fighting against storms and floods, the unavoidable natural disasters, storm No. 10 and the heavy rains after storm No. 11, caused great damage to people, property, and production in the town. The consequences were 2 deaths, 1 missing person, 15,000 houses flooded; 420 hectares of winter-spring rice lost; 614.7 hectares of aquaculture lost over 70% of productivity, total estimated damage of over 800 billion VND. Hoang Mai Town Party Committee promptly established 10 working groups to direct the grassroots to overcome the consequences of storms and floods. The Town People's Committee established 2 delegations to review the files of people's requests for support for damages requested by wards and communes. As of January 9, 2014, 301 units, organizations, and individuals have come to support and provide relief, with a total amount of goods and cash worth over 24 billion VND. In addition to the province's support policies, the town also issued additional support policies from the town's relief fund and reserve budget, with a total budget of more than 11 billion VND to promptly help affected families. After the storm and flood, the town's People's Committee organized a campaign to mobilize the entire population to work on traffic and irrigation, focusing on dredging canals, repairing dikes, roads, etc. By July 2014, from the province's support budget, broken dikes such as the Quynh Dy sea dike, the Hoang Mai river dike of Quynh Dy commune, the Song Mo saltwater prevention river dike of Quynh Lien commune that was damaged in 2013 were promptly repaired; Road 537 was also completed, ready to prevent floods...

On August 7, 2014, the People's Committee of Hoang Mai Town organized 10 inspection teams for flood and storm prevention in 10 wards and communes to review and inspect the implementation of flood and storm prevention plans in 2014. The inspection results showed that the communes and towns have proactively reviewed and supplemented storm and flood prevention plans in 2014. Focusing on propaganda, overcoming subjective and negligent thinking among some officials and people, proactively repairing weak works to prevent storms and floods; strengthening the Flood and Storm Prevention Command Committee; mobilizing militia forces, youth unions and people to clear sewers, clear trees on both sides of roads, and embankments at areas at high risk of landslides...

To prevent and fight against storms and floods during the 2014 rainy season, through assessing the current situation, the flood drainage system, especially some canals such as La Man canal in Quynh Thien ward, Hoi Bai (Mai Hung), Khe Dong (Quynh Loc)... are silted up, eroded, degraded and cannot ensure flood drainage when there is a flood; the traffic system is mostly degraded, some unfinished traffic routes such as National Highway 1A, National Highway 1A to Thai Hoa, Xuan Lien road... schools in Quynh Lap, Quynh Phuong, Quynh Trang, Mai Hung cannot ensure flood and storm protection. The town has 962 fishing vessels, but the Lach Con storm shelter area, which the Provincial People's Committee approved for the project and invested in implementing phase I, is still lacking funds, only ensuring anchorage for about 2/3 of the boats, the rest have to go all the way to Thanh Hoa to anchor in unsafe conditions, making it very difficult for fishermen.

Based on the summary, assessment and experience of the issues that have not been done well in flood and storm prevention and control in 2013, Hoang Mai Town has proactively developed a plan to respond to storms and floods in this year's rainy and flood season. Mr. Le Sy Chien - Vice Chairman of Hoang Mai Town People's Committee said: The motto is to proactively prevent, respond promptly, overcome urgently and effectively, in which, prevention and avoidance are the main focus. Currently, the Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Search and Rescue of the town has developed a plan, forecasted natural disaster trends, proposed directions and key tasks in 2014: inspect and promptly repair, have plans to ensure the safety of dams, reservoirs, and traffic roads; review residential areas at risk of natural disasters. Have plans ready to support facilities that have natural disasters; develop natural disaster prevention and control plans according to the "4 on-site" motto suitable to the characteristics and conditions of each ward and commune. Organize and implement well the work of on-duty, direct the work of flood and storm prevention and control and search and rescue. Approve the plan for flood and storm prevention and control for wards and communes in 2014. Organize the signing of contracts for forces, materials, and means to be ready to respond, rescue, and handle construction incidents that occur during floods and storms. Direct Hoang Mai Irrigation Enterprise and related units to organize the implementation of plans to protect irrigation works; prepare backup means and materials to overcome incidents during storms and floods and serve production before, during and after floods and storms. At the same time, the Town is also continuing to request the province to have policies to support communication devices and life-saving equipment for fishermen; equip materials and means to serve flood and storm prevention and control; arrange capital to complete construction and put into use essential storm prevention works in the town...

What the leaders of Hoang Mai Town are also concerned and worried about is that, currently, the Song Mo dike line to prevent saltwater intrusion and flooding for the aquaculture area of ​​over 400 hectares has a phase I investment project, but the dike has not yet closed the entire line, the possibility of storms threatening the people's aquaculture area can still happen, causing great economic damage to the people. Hoang Mai Town has a large river and lake system, an 18km long coastline, but specialized vehicles such as canoes and large-capacity generators are not yet available. In particular, the flood discharge scenario of Vuc Mau lake, the warning system, and the notification of overflow discharge of Vuc Mau lake have not yet been built... if heavy storms occur, the risk of threatening people's lives and production is still very high.

Mr. Nguyen

Hoang Mai City Party Committee