Floods in August, 2017 washed away people’s houses and assets in Muong La District, Northern highland province of Son La (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Unsustainablelivelihoods, including the chopping down of protective forests for agriculturalproduction and building houses near streams and rivers, have increased risks ofnatural disasters, officials admitted at a recent meeting.
The meeting, organised in Hanoi by theMinistry of Agriculture and Rural Development, focused on flash floods,landslides and quick assessments of safety in mountainous areas.
Participants stressed the need for earlywarnings of natural disasters in all localities.
It was noted at the meeting that in thecoastal central province of Quang Nam, dozens of hectares of protective forestshave been illegally chopped down between 2014 and 2016 in Ba To district’s BaLien commune to get land for agricultural production.
Meanwhile, it is estimated that more than1.2 million houses in various localities face the risk of damage or destructionby flash floods and landslides, the meeting heard.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Hoang Van Thang said it was imperative that comprehensive plans bemade to tackle the situation.
All localities have to quickly finishcompiling relevant data so thatresidents can be given early warnings of flash floods and landslides, Thangsaid.
They should also set up rapid response taskforces for all natural disaster related incidents in the future, he said.
Representatives from the localities saidagencies responsible for forecasting and issuing warnings aboutnatural-disaster risks have to improve their capabilities urgently.
Vu Ba Thao of the Vietnam Academy for WaterResources said quality of maps identifying flash flood sand landslide proneareas should be improved to better reflect the real situation.
He said current maps did not have detailsof time, location and levels of risks facing large areas on a provincial andregional scale.
Thao suggested that authorised agenciesinstall soon a system of monitoring stations that issue warnings when nearbyroads, construction sites and historical sites are at risk of flash floods andlandslides.
This should be piloted in several majorareas to gain experience, and then widely across the country, he said.
According to data from the Centre SteeringCommittee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, natural disasters killed386 people and caused damage of 60 trillion VND (2.6 billion USD) so far thisyear. The corresponding figures for the whole of 2016 were 264 and 40 trillion VND(1.75 billion USD).
The centre said Doksuri and Damrey were thestrongest typhoons in three decades to batter the central region this year.
In October, unusual heavy rains in thenorth had forced the Hoa Binh Reservoir to open eight floodgates at the sametime for the first time in a decade.
Besides, landslides on river banks in theMekong Delta have also worsened this year.-VNA
VNA
