Prime Minister: Building a safe society against natural disasters

As a country that “protects itself from storms in the morning and from the sun and fire in the afternoon”, the Prime Minister said that Vietnam has a tradition of steadfastly fighting against storms, floods and droughts to protect the peaceful life of all people. Therefore, the Conference is very important, with the participation of many leaders of localities, ministries, branches, domestic and foreign organizations, scientists and experts to discuss practical and creative measures to solve this problem. The Government will listen and absorb to the maximum, thereby forming a Government Resolution on natural disaster prevention.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam is one of the five countries most threatened by natural disasters. We have made efforts but the damage is still very large, often taking away 1-1.5% of GDP. With 16 storms and 4 tropical depressions in 2017, we suffered a loss of 60,000 billion VND.

In particular, the Prime Minister made it clear that we must be aware that natural disasters do not follow any rules and have a great impact on people's peaceful lives. If people are left hungry, cold, and homeless due to poor prevention and awareness, then that is our responsibility.

Therefore, the Prime Minister thoroughly grasped "the greatest spirit and the most comprehensive guiding viewpoint is to build a safe society against natural disasters".

Accordingly, natural disaster prevention must be the task of the entire political system, of the entire people and the entire society, implemented according to the motto of the State and the people working together, effectively using the resources of the State, organizations and individuals at home and abroad.

Disaster prevention is implemented in the direction of risk management. We must pay full attention to prevention, response and overcoming consequences. In order to reduce damage, we must take prevention as the main focus, pay attention to investment in prevention (not just response and overcoming), and implement well the motto "4 on-site".

Implement comprehensive and synchronous management solutions according to the system, basin, inter-region, and inter-sectoral levels; apply scientific and technological achievements combined with inheriting traditional experiences.

Disaster prevention and control contents must be included in the socio-economic development planning and plans of the whole country and of all sectors to minimize risks caused by natural disasters; encourage businesses to invest in the field of disaster prevention and control in the form of public-private partnerships with appropriate mechanisms and policies.

It is necessary to combine structural and non-structural solutions, combining post-disaster recovery and upgrading with the requirement to rebuild better. Investment in construction of disaster prevention and control works must combine multiple objectives.

Ensure the implementation of international commitments that Vietnam participates in compliance with the provisions of international law and Vietnamese law.

Get to the storm before it hits

From the above viewpoints, the Prime Minister believes that there must be a better organizational structure and institutions for disaster prevention work with the spirit of "being compact and refined, cadres must be good, responsibility must be high, responsibility must be linked to people's interests, and people-oriented".

Agreeing with the statement of Mr. Le Huy Ngo, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, calling is good but arriving in the storm area before the storm arrives, staying close to the people, and taking proactive measures to evacuate is better, the Prime Minister shared about his time working in the locality, when floods occurred, the government had to order the disposal of people's pigs and then compensate to limit the situation where people regretted their belongings, tried to stay at home during the storm and flood because of their pigs, or carried pigs on boats that then rocked, capsized, and killed people. Therefore, when doing this work, officials must have a high sense of responsibility towards the people.

Therefore, “This conference is a conference to promote the sense of responsibility towards the government and the national disaster prevention system to take care of the people. Only with passion can we be creative, but indifference to storms and floods is not acceptable,” said the Prime Minister.

Along with that, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to improve management capacity. The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and Steering Committees at all levels must operate continuously, effectively, efficiently, and proactively, not only during the rainy and flood season.

Highlighting the need to promote the application of science and technology, especially in monitoring, observation and forecasting, the Prime Minister noted that the landslide that killed many people last year should not happen again. In addition, discipline and order must be strict, "when meeting to prevent storms, floods and natural disasters, there must be all responsible people present to make decisions".

Communication on natural disaster prevention must be given top priority because it is related to people's lives and property. Improve the capacity of cadres working on natural disaster prevention, especially grassroots cadres.

Regarding institutions and policies, the Prime Minister stated that they will continue to be improved, including financial policies to support this work, promote socialization, and create conditions for public-private cooperation...

Suggesting specific solutions for regions, the Prime Minister stated that for mountainous areas including the North, Central and Central Highlands, landslides, flash floods, dam safety, and population relocation are issues that need much attention in the direction. The inter-reservoir operation process must be clarified.

For the Northern Delta and North Central regions, it is necessary to ensure the safety of natural disaster prevention works, including the dike system, "don't let the situation of termite nests as big as drums on the dike go unnoticed, when it rains they will burst and you won't be able to run away in time". Do not wait until "the cow is gone to build a barn" in the work of protecting the dike. Safety must be ensured for the entire region, especially the capital Hanoi.

For the Central Coast and Central Highlands, there are large slopes, so the safety of dams, inter-reservoir processes, flood discharge, boat mooring areas, and aquaculture need attention.

For the Mekong Delta region, it is necessary to effectively implement Resolution No. 120/NQ-CP of the Government in the spirit of "following nature" in responding to climate change.

For sea and coastal areas, do not be subjective, the process of ships entering and exiting must be strictly controlled, combining border guards and local storm and flood prevention forces, "do not let the situation of calling for a long time but the ship does not return". There must be a response plan in case of a super storm.

For large cities, it is necessary to review standards and drainage capacity, especially, to minimize the leveling of lakes to create construction sites, reducing water storage space. Pay attention to the care of trees in the city, not to let trees fall and cause death as has happened in some cases.