HÀ NỘI — Seeing disaster preparedness as a strategic mission, the Việt Nam Red Cross Society (VRCS) has focused on early action to respond to disasters, VRCS Central Committee Vice President and General Secretary Nguyễn Hải Anh said at a workshop held in the central city of Đà Nẵng on Thursday.

This year, the VRCS continues to implement its coordination programmes with competent ministries, branches and sectors, improving the quality of the response forces, providing guidance on the application of the Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for Disaster Response while making reports to relevant authorities in a timely manner and flexibly deploying rescue force, he said.

Việt Nam is now home to more than 400,000 VRCS volunteers who are given regular training on natural disaster response and rescue skills, he highlighted. Anh said since the beginning of the year, the society has rolled out various activities to support locals hit by hail, thunderstorms and cyclones in the northern mountainous region, drought and saline intrusion in Mekong Delta, and serious incidents at production and business establishments across the nation.

Since January 2023, disasters have left 166 dead and missing as well as caused damage worth some VNĐ8.23 trillion (US$323.4 million).

Last year, nearly VNĐ149 billion in both cash and goods was granted for disaster and disease response work of the VRCS chapters. — VNS