Flooding in Tả Phời Commune, the northern mountainous province of Lào Cai. — VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has signed a dispatch requesting efforts to prevent, control and mitigate damage from landslides, riverbank and coastal erosion, and flash floods amid serious losses to both human lives and properties in localities across Việt Nam after intense downpours.

In the document, the PM asked ministers, chairpersons of People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces and heads of relevant agencies to fully grasp the situation and proactively take necessary measures within their authority.

They must take urgent measures to ensure the safety of residents in areas highly prone to landslides and flash floods, including evacuating them and their assets to safe areas, providing them with food and necessities, and raising public awareness of the effort, especially in remote, mountainous, border, island and ethnic minority areas.

In the long term, localities need to closely control urban planning and construction activities, especially houses and structures in areas with sloping terrain, along rivers, streams, canals, coastal zones, and regions at risk of geological hazards. They were urged to prohibit and strictly deal with violations related to land use and management, forest protection and construction in protected and special-use forests, and illegal mineral extraction.

The PM ordered building projects and allocating resources for sustainable projects aimed at preventing and mitigating landslides.

The chairpersons of the provincial People's Committees must be held accountable to the PM and the law for any lack of responsibility for leadership and direction that leads to a severe loss of lives and property of the people.

Specific tasks were also assigned to ministries, agencies concerned and the press.

Since early July, landslides, flash floods, riverbank and coastal erosion have caused severe damage to human lives, property, roads and infrastructure facilities, particularly in the Central Highlands, the northern mountainous and the Mekong Delta localities. — VNS