Hanoi (VNA) – The nine-minute documentary “Dung dua voi thien tai”(Don’t play with natural disasters) by Khanh Hoa province’s TV and Radio wonthe first prize of the short reportage and film contest, themed “Extreme naturaldisasters – lessons of the past and ideas for future actions”.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control andthe United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) held the awards ceremony inHanoi on May 22.

The winning documentary reveals how a storm destroyed all the life savings oflocal people in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa early in the morningof November 4, 2017.

The organisation board also presented a second prizes to “Lu quet Mu Cang Chai– Nguyen nhan hinh thanh va Moi so giai phap (Flash Floods in Mu Cang Chai –Causes and Solutions) by Vietnam Television and “Chuyen cai ao” (The Story of aPond) by Soc Trang TV and Radio. Three third prizes and three consolationprizes were also awarded.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, permanent member of the Central SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Tran Quang Hoaihighlighted the crucial role of the media in reducing destruction caused bynatural disasters.

Natural disaster predictions and warnings need to be disseminated quickly andprecisely to the public via different means, he added.

Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, said the competitionrecognised the importance of the media in providing knowledge and skills tocontribute to natural disaster prevention efforts.

At the end of the awards ceremony, the 2018 contest with the theme “Minimisingdestruction caused by natural disasters and proactively adapting to climatechange starting from communities” was launched.

The contest aims to improve media coverage of natural disaster preparedness andimprove public awareness of disasters.

It also supports the realisation of targets set out in the Sendai Framework forDisaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals of theUnited Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Over the past 20 years, natural disasters have left some 400 dead and missingand caused economic damage of about 1-1.5 percent of the country’s grossdomestic product (GDP) yearly.

2017 was considered a year of extreme weather, with heavy and prolonged downpours,landslides, flashfloods and storms resulting in 386 dead and missing and some60 trillion VND (2.6 billion USD) worth of damage.-VNA