Police in Thạch Hà District evacuate the elderly and children to a safe place. VNA/VNS. Photo

HCM CITY— The Ministry of Health on October 19 provided 4.2 million of Aquatabs 67mg water purification tablets to health departments in the provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên- Huế and Quảng Nam, and Đà Nẵng City.

Each will get 700,000 tablets from the ministry’s reserve for natural disaster prevention and control.

The ministry has instructed its steering office for natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue to work with local health departments which will deliver tablets to relevant agencies to serve the public.  

The ministry has assigned its nine hospitals and institutes to provide medical support in the flood-hit central provinces.

Bạch Mai Hospital will support Hà Tĩnh Province. Vietnam – Cuba Đồng Hới Friendship Hospital will provide assistance for Quảng Bình Province; Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital for Quảng Trị Province; Huế Central General Hospital for Thừa Thiên – Huế Province; Đà Nẵng C Hospital for Đà Nẵng City; and Quảng Nam Central General Hospital for Quảng Nam province.

For epidemic prevention and control, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology will support the provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình and Quảng Trị; the Institute for Occupational Health and Environment will help Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên – Huế provinces; and Nha Trang Pasteur Institute will support Đà Nẵng City and Quảng Nam Province.

The Ministry of Health has told the health departments of the provinces and Đà Nẵng City to store drugs, chemicals, materials and means of emergency aid and environmental sanitation.

Besides the boats of military soldiers used to rescue people, fishermen in Quảng Bình Province’s Quảng Ninh District have used their boats to rescue people in the flood-hit areas in the district.  

Nguyễn Văn Truyền’s  boat was taken to Thế Lộc Village after seven people asked for help, according to Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper.

After saving the seven people, his boat continued to a two-storey house where 40 people were staying during the flood.

On October 19, 15 fishing boats were used day and night, and will continue to be used in coming days.  

Many people and state cadres in the provinces of Nghệ An and Thừa Thiên-Huế have made thousands of square glutinous rice cakes filled with green bean paste and pork.

Phạm Văn Minh, 47, in Nghĩa Xuân Commune in Nghệ An Province, told tuổi trẻ (Youth) newspaper that they hope the cakes will help people in the flood-hit areas.

Ministries, departments, state organisations and unions, universities and schools as well as individuals have launched and responded to donation programmes for residents affected by the floods.

The Youth Union’s Central Committee and Việt Nam Youth Federation’s Central Committee have called for VNĐ300 million (US$12,936) in donations for the provinces of Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên – Huế, and Quảng Ngãi. Other basic necessities worth nearly VNĐ3 billion also were donated. They have set up 500 teams to visit these provinces to help people overcome the consequences of the natural disaster. VNS