Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee: Responding to storms and floods must avoid disrupting people's lives

On the afternoon of October 5, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh chaired a meeting with departments, branches, communes and wards to respond to storm Matmo (storm No. 11).

Many areas have potential risks of landslides and rockslides.

At the conference, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dai, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment, said that according to the news of the Northern Hydrometeorological Station, on October 6, the city had winds gradually increasing to level 4 - 5. From early morning of October 6 to evening of October 7, Hanoi had moderate to very heavy rain and thunderstorms, with total rainfall ranging from 50 - 150mm, in some places over 150mm.

Water levels of rivers and lakes in the city are high, such as Da River, Red River, Duong River, Nhue River, My Ha River, which are currently below alert level 2; Bui River is above alert level 3; Tich River is above alert level 2; Ca Lo River, Cau River, Day River are above alert level 1. In addition, most irrigation reservoirs exceed the overflow threshold, such as Suoi Hai, Meo Gu, Tan Xa, Xuan Khanh, Quan Son...

Photo caption — Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dai, Director of Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment.

Many areas have been saturated with water due to the soil and rocks being soaked with rainwater for a long time, posing a high risk of landslides and rockslides. In addition, according to reports from communes and wards, there are still impacts and damages from storm No. 10 and rain and floods (over 2,000 houses are still affected by flooding). The city and 100% of communes and wards have established a Civil Defense Command Committee, assigning tasks to members.

Regarding forces, materials, and vehicles, the army and police have nearly 17,000 people and 2,159 vehicles ready; the drainage company has 2,400 people and 200 vehicles and equipment; the tree company has 1,000 people and 352 vehicles and equipment.

At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Manh Quyen, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, said that many documents have been issued to departments, branches and localities to carry out response work to storm No. 11. For inner-city areas, it is necessary to focus on handling flooded areas, fallen trees and traffic regulation. In suburban areas, it is necessary to focus on checking the dyke system, embankments, ensuring production safety, electricity and handling heavy flooded areas.

The Vice Chairman of Hanoi requested that all forces be consolidated and coordinated well to thoroughly handle the situations. The Department of Industry and Trade and related sectors should proactively source goods, stabilize prices, and avoid natural disasters from affecting people's lives.

Ensure absolute safety for people

Concluding the meeting, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh acknowledged the efforts of the police, military, drainage workers and teachers... in responding to the recent storm No. 10, when they promptly supported people and ensured the safety of students at schools and classrooms affected by deep flooding.

Responding to storm No. 11, the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee requested the entire city to maintain the highest response status, ensure absolute safety for people, and at the same time learn from the limitations in propaganda and management work when storm No. 10 recently occurred.

The Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee said that the time when storm No. 11 made landfall coincided with the period when the city was operating a complete two-level urban government model and implementing many major activities, so the requirements for direction, coordination and information work were even higher.

At the conference, Mr. Tran Sy Thanh suggested that the Northern Hydrometeorological Station increase the frequency and detail of bulletins in the region, including Hanoi, so that the city can have timely management plans.

Learning from the experience of storm No. 10, Mr. Thanh said that it is necessary to strengthen the mechanism of unified information coordination between units to proactively respond. In extreme weather situations, the media must be one step ahead, helping people grasp the situation accurately and proactively respond. In addition, departments, branches and localities must have emergency operation scenarios when the electricity, telecommunications and traffic systems are interrupted.

However, Mr. Thanh requested a review of the entire coordination process, from warning, operation to communication, to perfect response plans in similar situations.

According to the Chairman of Hanoi, storm No. 11 may have complicated developments, but if all levels and sectors are proactive, flexible, well coordinated and provide timely information, damage will be minimized and people's activities will be ensured.

Regarding the issue of storm response, the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee requested relevant units to be flexible in situations to come up with the safest and most effective response solutions, while ensuring maximum normal operations and avoiding disruption to people's lives.

The Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee gave an example of letting civil servants, workers, and students take time off from school in the face of natural disasters, requiring continuous and accurate information updates from relevant agencies to come up with the most accurate and appropriate plan.

Along with proactively responding to storms in the city, Mr. Thanh also requested the Civil Defense Steering Committee to strengthen coordination with neighboring provinces. During recent storms such as Typhoon Yagi (2024), the city leaders proactively contacted leaders of some neighboring provinces in the region to regulate and drain water appropriately, minimizing the risk of flooding in Hanoi.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/xa-hoi/chu-tich-ubnd-ha-noi-ung-pho-voi-mua-bao-can-tranh-xao-tron-cuoc-song-nhan-dan-20251005184746360.htm