Ba Che is a mountainous district of Quang Ninh province, with rugged mountainous terrain dividing the land into narrow valleys and streams, large and small rivers. Therefore, this place often faces flooding and isolation during the rainy season.
In August 2008, due to the impact of storm No. 6 (Hagupit), Ba Che had to endure a historic “great flood” with severe impacts. In the town center, the water level was 2.5 – 5 m, the district central market was flooded up to the 2nd floor. Within just 2 days of September 26 and 27, 2008, more than 1,200 houses collapsed, washed away, and were severely damaged, thousands of households had to evacuate from landslide and dangerous areas…
On July 19, 2018, history repeated itself when floodwaters flooded from upstream, along with the rapidly rising tide of the Ba Che River, causing the town to be submerged in water, completely cutting off and isolating the entire district. The rapidly rising floodwaters caused nearly 50 houses to be severely flooded, forcing more than 200 households to evacuate from landslide and dangerous areas...
Ba Che district officials check the safety of dam projects. Photo: DDCI Ba Che
According to the People's Committee of Ba Che district, in the past 10 years (2008-2018), the locality suffered about 246 billion VND in damage due to floods. Of which, the historic flood on September 26, 2008 caused about 105 billion VND in damage. In addition to material damage, floods also affected the spiritual life of the people.
Faced with that situation, Ba Che has changed its mindset in responding to natural disasters and floods. In addition to investing and regularly maintaining flood prevention and control works, the district has implemented a project to build a flood warning and forecasting system on the Ba Che River in 2020. This project is part of the project "Flood and landslide prevention in Ba Che district for the period 2019-2025" approved by the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province in 2019. This is also the first artificial intelligence flood warning software in the province.
Automatic rainfall measuring system installed at the People's Committee of Ba Che town (Ba Che district, Quang Ninh province). Photo: DDCI Ba Che
Accordingly, the district has synchronously installed rain and flood measuring stations at many points on the Ba Che River. These measuring stations are connected to the district's Operation Center using flood warning software. Information on forecasted rainfall, actual rainfall, actual water level, etc. at points on the Ba Che River will be regularly updated on the system. In addition, the system also provides flood scenarios for localities to be ready to respond. The system can forecast floods 16 days in advance and provide disaster response scenarios based on inference models on an artificial intelligence platform.
The information is not only displayed on the software at the District Operation Center, but also sent to people via SMS. Thanks to that, when there is a flood warning, local authorities and people can promptly grasp the situation to proactively prevent natural disasters.
Mr. Khieu Anh Tu - Vice Chairman of Ba Che District People's Committee said that Ba Che is a mountainous district with many rivers and streams, so the rainy season often has a great impact on people's lives and property. For that reason, Ba Che reported to the province on the construction of an early warning system for floods in the district. In 2020, Ba Che installed 11 flood warning stations along the district's rivers, streams and dams. In addition, the district also installed 11 rain gauges in localities to control the flood situation.
Website of the flood early warning system in Ba Che district, Quang Ninh province. Screenshot
“This flood warning system is integrated into each individual’s phone, so when there is a flood, people can grasp the situation to proactively prevent floods. Since the installation of the early flood warning system, there have been no human casualties in Ba Che district, minimizing property damage caused by floods,” said Mr. Khieu Anh Tu.
The Vice Chairman of the Ba Che District People's Committee added that the district also builds a flood map in the area. When there are floods, areas at risk of flooding are checked and reviewed. Before the annual flood season, in areas at risk of flooding, the district propagates to people to evacuate from landslide and flood areas.
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