Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng offers encouragement to families affected by the natural disaster in Mường Than Commune, in the northern mountainous province of Lai Châu on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photos Quý Trung

LAI CHÂU — Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng has stressed that safeguarding lives and helping affected residents return to normal life must remain the highest priority in the northern mountainous province of Lai Châu.

He also urged authorities to swiftly clear landslide sites, restore transport links and essential services and prevent people from returning to unsafe areas.

The Deputy Prime Minister was speaking on Tuesday during a visit to inspect post-flood recovery efforts, meet residents affected by flash floods, visit evacuees as well as survey the proposed site for a resettlement area in Mường Than Commune.

At the site, he inspected damage caused by the flash floods as well as ongoing search and rescue operations and recovery work in the commune.

He was briefed by local authorities and emergency response agencies on the disaster's impact, the mobilisation of personnel and equipment, transport conditions, the situation facing affected residents and progress in implementing recovery measures.

Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng (third, right) inspects the resettlement area for households who lost their homes in Mường Than Commune on Tuesday.

Visiting families staying in temporary evacuation shelters, he expressed his sympathy over the loss of life and property caused by the floods, encouraging them to overcome their hardship and rebuild their lives as soon as possible.

He also commended the armed forces, police, militia and local authorities for their prompt response, praising their efforts in search and rescue operations, evacuating residents to safety and mitigating the disaster's aftermath.

Dũng also inspected the proposed site for a concentrated resettlement area intended for households whose homes were destroyed by the disaster in the commune.

He ordered authorities to expedite all necessary administrative procedures to ensure construction remained on schedule, while paying close attention to the quality of housing, essential infrastructure and living conditions so that residents could settle down and rebuild their lives as quickly as possible.

Earlier, on Sunday, the provincial People's Committee issued an emergency construction order to establish a resettlement area for residents displaced by the disaster in the commune.

Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng and the working group inspect the area affected by flash floods and landslides in the commune on Tuesday.

Under the plan, the resettlement site will accommodate around 24 households that lost their homes, covering a levelled area of approximately 10,000 sq.m.

The project includes the construction of single-storey houses together with essential infrastructure such as internal roads, water supply and drainage systems, electricity, site levelling and supporting facilities, enabling residents to resettle quickly and resume their livelihoods.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s report, torrential rain triggered flash floods in the commune at around 7am last Friday, leaving six people dead and two others missing.

The provincial People's Committee took proactive measures in rescue and recovery operations.

Immediately after the disaster struck, the local authorities mobilised maximum on-site resources to conduct search and rescue operations, assist affected residents, and deal with the aftermath.

A provincial task force was dispatched to the scene to direct rescue efforts.

The authorities have continued searching for the two missing people, worked to reach isolated communities, evacuated 1,686 residents from high-risk areas to safety, and cleared damaged roads to restore transport access. VNS