Prime Minister requests protection of people and property in flood areas

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc sent his condolences to the families of those killed in the flood, and asked localities to proactively prevent and control floods, limiting damage to people and property of the people and the State.

On the morning of October 15, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch No. 1827/CD-TTg to the People's Committees of the provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue; the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, National Defense, Public Security, Natural Resources and Environment, Transport, Information and Communications, Industry and Trade, and Health; the National Committee for Search and Rescue; the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control; and the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security direct search and rescue forces, military forces, and police forces in the area to deploy forces and means to support people's evacuation, rescue, and relief at the request of the locality. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade closely monitor the development of floods and rains, coordinate with localities to direct the operation of irrigation and hydroelectric reservoirs in the area to ensure safety, contributing to reducing floods downstream.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade directs the safe operation of the power grid system, prepares sufficient food, essential goods, strictly controls prices of essential goods, and prevents the situation of taking advantage of floods to increase prices. The Ministry of Health directs grassroots medical forces and related units to provide sufficient medicine for disease treatment and prevention, and provides instructions on environmental sanitation to prevent disease outbreaks after the floods recede.

The Prime Minister requested relevant ministries and branches, according to their functions and tasks, to direct their subordinate units to be ready to help localities when requested, to support localities in stabilizing their lives and restoring production immediately after the floods recede. The Prime Minister requested localities to closely monitor the developments of floods, immediately deploy emergency measures to respond to floods according to the warning level, ensure people's safety, and proactively deploy plans to overcome the consequences of floods.

Resolutely evacuate households living in dangerous areas at risk of deep flooding, flash floods, and landslides to safe places. Mobilize all means, forces, and use all means to approach deeply flooded and isolated residential areas; organize food and essential aid for people, especially those who have not been evacuated in deeply flooded areas, to prevent people from going hungry or thirsty.

Focus on making the greatest efforts to search for those who are still missing; organize visits and encouragement for affected families, support the treatment of the injured, and properly bury the deceased; arrange temporary accommodation for households that have lost their homes. Urgently implement the Prime Minister's Official Dispatch 1826/CD-TTg dated October 15, 2016 on focusing on responding to and overcoming traffic congestion caused by floods.

The Prime Minister's dispatch stated that from October 12 to now, due to the influence of the tropical depression, combined with cold air, in the provinces from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue, there has been heavy to very heavy rain over a wide area with common rainfall from 300 to 400 mm, especially in some places in Quang Binh province (Tuyen Hoa, Mai Hoa, Minh Hoa), the total rainfall in the past 3 days has exceeded 700 mm.

Many national highways, provincial roads, and traffic routes were eroded and deeply flooded. The North-South railway section through Tuyen Hoa, Quang Binh was flooded, causing traffic jams. Some residential areas were cut off, causing human losses in Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue provinces. Currently, the upstream floods of rivers in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh have peaked (approximately the historical flood level in 2010 in Ha Tinh and 2007 in Quang Binh). The downstream floods continue to rise, with a high risk of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas.

The Prime Minister sent his condolences to the people and local authorities, and offered his deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. To proactively prevent and combat floods, limit human and property damage to the people and the state, the Prime Minister requested.

According to PLO