Prime Minister's telegram: Proactively respond to storm No. 16

The Prime Minister has just issued an official dispatch requesting ministries, branches, localities and relevant agencies to proactively respond to storm No. 16.

Location and direction of storm Tembin. Photo: NCHMF.

The contents of the Telegram are as follows:

Currently, the storm with the international name Tembin is operating about 280km from Palawan Island (Philippines), the strongest wind near the storm center is level 9-10, gusting to level 13. It is forecasted that tomorrow morning the storm will enter the East Sea and become storm number 16 and continue to strengthen.

This is a strong, fast-moving, complex storm with the potential to make landfall directly during high tide with a level 4 natural disaster risk level (the strongest intensity ever experienced in the region); an area with an economic scale, population characteristics, infrastructure, and natural characteristics that are vulnerable when the storm makes landfall.

Learning from experience, avoiding subjectivity and reducing damage as happened with the recent storm No. 12 and storm Linda in 1997, to proactively respond and limit damage to people and property, the Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to focus on implementing the following urgent tasks:

1. People's Committees of provinces and cities coordinate with the Ministries of National Defense, Public Security, Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade, and Construction:

- Regularly monitor and update information and developments of the storm, continue to count ships still operating at sea; do not let ships go out to sea and maintain regular contact with ships operating in the storm-affected area to guide movement or escape from the dangerous area, promptly handle bad situations that may occur.

- Review plans to ensure safety for people on islands, oil rigs, oil and gas rigs, exploitation activities at sea, along the coast, on islands at risk of strong landslides, low-lying areas due to the influence of high tides. Resolutely evacuate people in dangerous areas that do not ensure safety; especially for island districts and island communes such as Truong Sa (Khanh Hoa province), Con Dao (Ba Ria Vung Tau),...

- Checking instructions for mooring ships at ports (including transport ships; ships traveling on rivers and at sea; ferries, etc.), anchoring areas around islands, aquaculture cages and seafood farming areas at sea and on land to ensure safety for people and property.

- Review all response plans and scenarios. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen equipment and resources to promptly direct and operate smoothly in the worst possible situations. Postpone unnecessary meetings to focus on effectively responding to the storm.

- Check and review readiness to deploy response plans to ensure safety for the dike system, dams, key landslide areas on river banks, vulnerable coastlines, works under construction, and prevent urban flooding due to the impact of rising water, high tides and strong winds.

- Check and guide the bracing of houses, warehouses, power grid systems, information systems, tourist service facilities, tree pruning and other public and civil works to ensure safety.

- Urgently harvest rice, crops and aquatic products according to the motto "green at home is better than old in the fields".

- Assign members of the PCTT&TKCN Command Committee to directly go to vulnerable areas to inspect and review storm response plans according to the "4 on-site" principle; especially need to strengthen forms of communication to respond to storms to the community;

2. The National Committee for Search and Rescue, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security direct the review of plans and are ready to deploy forces and vehicles in key areas to evacuate people and conduct rescue operations when requested.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development directs the work of ensuring the safety of dykes and irrigation works; guides and inspects the mooring of boats, reinforcement of aquaculture areas, and harvesting of agricultural products.

4. The Ministry of Industry and Trade directs the work of ensuring the safety of the power grid system; prepares appropriate reserves of food, foodstuffs, and essential goods to be ready to support localities when requested.

5. The Ministry of Transport directs the readiness of measures to ensure traffic on main traffic routes; proactively arranges forces, materials and equipment in key areas at risk of landslides due to floods and rains to be ready to handle incidents as soon as they occur.

6. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment directs the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting to continue closely monitoring the storm's developments, increase forecast and warning bulletins, and provide them to the media and relevant agencies to promptly convey to the people and serve the direction and response work.

7. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent diplomatic notes to embassies of countries in the region requesting help for Vietnamese fishermen and fishing boats to take shelter from the storm and ensure safety.

8. Ministries and branches, according to their functions and tasks, shall make specific plans to coordinate with local authorities to comprehensively review specific plans to proactively handle situations before, during and after the storm; maintain forces and means ready to respond when bad situations occur.

9. Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam and news agencies, especially ward and commune stations, increase broadcasting time, report on storm developments and disseminate response skills so that people know how to proactively prevent, combat and minimize damage, especially in areas on islands, on rivers, at sea, coastal areas, aquaculture areas, remote and isolated areas.

10. The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control shall organize a permanent staff, closely monitor the development of storms and floods, promptly direct and urge ministries, branches and localities to deploy response measures; proactively establish inter-sectoral working groups to directly direct and coordinate with localities in handling urgent situations; and report to the Prime Minister for timely direction on issues beyond its authority./.