Relevant ministries and sectors should channel their focus on drawing up measures in response to natural disasters, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường at a meeting held in Hà Nội yesterday. — Photo nld.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Relevant ministries and sectors should channel their focus on drawing up measures in response to natural disasters, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyễn Xuân Cường at a meeting held in Hà Nội yesterday.

There is a huge risk of landslides and floods in the upcoming raining season, so Cường ordered the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) to keep a close watch on weather developments to provide up-to-date forecasts and warnings so that ministries and localities could make thorough preparations to respond to natural calamities.

Cường asked the Việt Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Directorate for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to jointly collect hydrology information along the Mekong River for authorities.

Underlining the importance of natural disaster prevention, Cường asked cities and provinces to implement measures to reduce losses caused by floods and landslides and stabilise local livelihoods, while also working on solutions to ensure safety for residents who were frequently hit by floods.

They should show farmers how to re-organise rice production, enhance the management of fishing vessels and aquaculture farming to minimise losses, and work to ensure traffic safety in mountainous and low-lying areas, he said.

Mekong Delta localities should introduce and focus on appropriate measures to deal with floods in the region.

The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the Border Guard Command have been put in charge of inspecting fishing vessels in case of storms, while the Ministry of Health has been tasked with guiding medical check-ups and disease prevention while examining environmental and hygiene conditions.

At the conference, representatives from the rescue agency under the General Staff of the Việt Nam People’s Army and the Directorate for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said that their forces and vehicles had already been deployed to join search and rescue efforts in Laos following the collapse of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam.

According to a report by the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research, due to the dam incident, the flow of water to the Mekong Delta could increase, and water levels in An Giang Province’s Tân Châu Town could increase from seven to 10cm at the weekend, but without significantly affecting the situation in the Mekong Delta. Water levels in the Delta increase naturally until mid-August and peak at about 3.2 metres in Tân Châu.

However, this is preliminary information as the time to collect and process data was reportedly limited, so the head of the Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention has asked for the situation to be monitored so that appropriate action can be taken where needed. — VNS