HÀ NỘI — Triumphing over other 78 entries, the short documentary Đừng Đùa Với Thiên Tai (Don’t Play with Natural Disasters) by Khánh Hòa Province’s TV and Radio won first prize in the contest for films and documentaries addressing the theme of “extreme natural disasters – lessons of the past and ideas for future action”.

The awards ceremony of the contest was held yesterday by the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the United Nations Development Programme.

The contest aims to improve media coverage of natural disaster preparedness and hence improve communities’ awareness of calamities.

In the long-term, the contest is part of plans to realise goals for sustainable development in order to minimise the destruction caused by natural disasters.

Within four months of launching the contest, the organisation board received over 78 submissions from across the country. The entries vividly reflect the serious effects caused by calamities and at the same time offer practical solutions for both government and communities.

The winning work, Đừng Đùa Với Thiên Tai, is a nine-minute documentary revealing to viewers how a storm destroyed all the life savings of the local people in the central province of Khánh Hòa early in the morning of November 4, 2017.

The organisation board also presented two second prizes to Lũ Quét Mù Cang Chải -- Nguyên Nhân Hình Thành Và Một Số Giải Pháp (Flash Floods in Mù Cang Chải -- Causes and Solutions) by Viet Nam Television and Chuyện Cái Ao (The Story of a Pond) by Sóc Trăng TV and Radio. Three third prizes and three consolation prizes were also awarded.

According to Trần Quang Hoài, head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the media plays a crucial role in reducing the destruction caused by natural disasters.

The information about natural disaster prediction and warning therefore needs to be transferred quickly and precisely to the public via different means of media, he added.

Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP country director in Viet Nam, stressed that the competition recognised the importance of the media in providing knowledge and skills to contribute to efforts of natural disaster preparedness.

At the end of the awards ceremony, the 2018 film contest with the theme “Minimising destruction caused by natural disasters and proactively adapting to climate change starting from comunities” was officially launched.

In the past 20 years, natural disasters have claimed over 400 lives and caused economic damage of around 1-1.5 per cent of GPD yearly. — VNS