Inspection delegation of natural disaster prevention and control work in Binh Thuan

On the morning of August 15, the working delegation of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control led by Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ta Quang Dong had a working session to inspect natural disaster prevention and control work in Binh Thuan province.

Receiving and working with the delegation were Mr. Phan Van Dang - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, along with representatives of a number of relevant departments and branches.

According to the report of the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, from the beginning of 2023 to present, in Binh Thuan, there have been a number of natural disasters such as tornadoes, local lightning strikes; heavy rain causing floods and inundations; strong winds; landslides, coastal erosion in Bac Binh, Tuy Phong, Phan Thiet, incidents, boat accidents, etc.

*Working session of the Delegation at the Provincial People's Committee on the morning of August 15.*

As a result, the natural disaster killed 5 people, injured 31 others, and forced 21 households to evacuate. Heavy rain and strong winds caused 347 houses to collapse, have their roofs blown off, be flooded, and be damaged. In addition, the whole province had more than 14,700 hectares of agricultural production area, 15 cages and 36 hectares of traditional fish farming damaged by rain and floods. The total damage in the whole province was more than 135 billion VND...

Speaking at the meeting, Vice Chairman Phan Van Dang said that the implementation and coordination of the tasks of natural disaster prevention, control, and search and rescue in the province have been favorable, increasingly becoming more systematic and practical, thereby limiting damage caused by natural disasters. Every year, the Provincial People's Committee directs the review, update, supplement, and development of disaster response plans according to each level of natural disaster risk and well prepares forces and means according to the "4 on-site" motto. After natural disasters and incidents occur, capital is mobilized from many sources for reconstruction, overcoming consequences and building infrastructure works, and effectively responding to climate change.

*Landslides often occur in the Ham Tien - Mui Ne sea area.*

However, handling each specific situation is sometimes confusing; the staff at all levels still hold concurrent positions, are lacking and do not have much experience; the funding source for overcoming the consequences of natural disasters is still small, only meeting a part of the requirements... The provincial leaders hope that the Central working group will continue to pay attention and support funding for localities to build solid embankments in landslide areas in the province. At the same time, they will pay attention to training, coaching, and fostering human resources and staff working in disaster prevention at all levels to fulfill assigned tasks in the current situation.

*Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong (in blue shirt, middle) and leaders of Binh Thuan Provincial People's Committee with the field delegation in Ham Tien.*

After listening to the opinions of provincial leaders, departments and members of the working group, Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong highly appreciated Binh Thuan's efforts in natural disaster prevention in recent times. At the same time, he assessed that the province has many different types of natural disasters, facing the risk of major natural disasters such as landslides, being affected by short but heavy rains. Especially along with the potential of the marine economy , localities face the risk of natural disasters due to erosion.

*Temporary embankment built in Ham Tien - Mui Ne area.*

Therefore, Deputy Minister Ta Quang Dong hopes that Binh Thuan will raise its vigilance and not be negligent or lose focus. At the same time, he suggested that the province focus on disseminating skills and training to improve knowledge on disaster prevention at all levels. On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen training and invest in necessary equipment for disaster prevention, especially the effective "4 on-site" principle, promptly relocate assets, and ensure human lives. Along with that, deploy digital technology applications, have many different ways of communication to people and members of the steering committee... In addition, in disaster prevention management, provinces can learn and exchange about digital transformation, disaster forecasting, typical examples, and effective disaster prevention models to train response skills for localities.

Immediately after the working session, the working delegation, together with provincial leaders and a number of departments and branches, conducted a field inspection at the landslide area in Quarter 1, Ham Tien Ward, Phan Thiet City.

Source