Installing 843 rain gauge stations and 16 flood warning towers to serve early warning of natural disasters

Accordingly, the project to install 80 automatic rain gauge stations for localities including Yen Bai, Thua Thien Hue, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Ba Ria Vung Tau, Ca Mau, Hau Giang, Bac Lieu and An Giang is sponsored by the Community Fund for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Thien Tam Fund - VinGroup Corporation in 2023. The total value of the project is nearly 3.1 billion VND. The project to install automatic flood warning towers supports 4 localities including Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Ninh Thuan and Da Nang City with a total value of 980 million VND.

*Community Fund for Natural Disaster Prevention symbolically presents rain gauge stations to serve early warning to localities*

The automatic rain gauge system and specialized flood warning towers provided by Water Resources Technical Development and Consulting Joint Stock Company fully meet the technical requirements and regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment .

In each locality supported to install the equipment, the construction unit organized instructions on how to use rain gauge data and flood warning towers on the phone application for officials, communes and management units. At the same time, rain gauge data was also automatically updated and displayed on the rain gauge system of the provinces as well as connected to the Meteorological and Hydrological data system and the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention.

Information from the rain gauge system helps the hydrometeorological industry have more reference data and store it in the specialized information network as input data, serving the analysis, running models to issue forecasts and warnings of natural disasters.

At the acceptance ceremony, representatives of the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and the Hydrometeorological Centers of the provinces highly appreciated the practical effectiveness of the project. The increase in the density of automatic rain gauge stations has brought about more timely and accurate information and data for hydrometeorological forecasting in the localities.

*Representative of the supplier of rain gauges and flood warning towers introduced the system*

Mr. Dang Van Hoa, Chief of Office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Thua Thien- Hue province, said that Thua Thien-Hue is a locality that is often heavily affected by annual floods, especially in the current complex and unpredictable conditions of climate change. In 2023, the Community Fund for Natural Disaster Prevention supported the locality with 5 automatic rain gauge stations.

“The increased density of rain gauge stations has helped localities monitor the rainfall situation in basins, especially the operation of reservoirs in the province. Similarly, flood warning towers using modern technology connected to smartphones have transferred live data on water levels in supporting localities to enhance their capacity to monitor, warn, and respond to floods in real time, minimizing damage caused by floods to the community.” - Mr. Hoa shared.

It is known that from 2016 to present, the Fund has mobilized funding to install and put into operation 843 rain gauge stations and 16 automatic flood warning towers to support the community in preventing natural disasters nationwide, with a total cost of nearly 40 billion VND. Through practice, it shows that automatic rain gauge stations are clearly effective in early warning of flash floods, landslides and landslides for the community.

*The installation of rain gauge stations is very effective in forecasting and preventing natural disasters.*

Mr. Cao Duc Phat, Chairman of the Management Board of the Community Fund for Natural Disaster Prevention, requested that localities disseminate information about the operation of the stations so that people know and are aware of protecting and maintaining the station system. At the same time, he requested that the contractor supplying and installing the equipment continue to provide technical support to help localities operate the automatic rain gauge system well to bring about the highest efficiency.

“Currently, the Central provinces and many places in the country often experience heavy rain and floods that affect people's lives, so monitoring to know the exact amount of rain as well as flood levels is very important.

The Community Disaster Prevention Fund has helped some localities install additional rain gauges and flood water level measurement stations, and combined with the state system, it helps authorities at all levels take measures to guide people to proactively prevent and avoid damage not only to property but especially to people." - Mr. Phat said.

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