Quang Ngai ensures the highest safety for people

Faced with the complicated developments of storm No. 13 (Kalmaegi), on November 6, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province issued a telegram requesting the entire political system to urgently and resolutely deploy response measures to protect the lives and property of the people; at the same time, proactively handle the incident of the Star Bueno ship running aground in Dung Quat waters.

Focus on responding to storm No. 13

According to the telegram of the Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province, storm No. 13 has strong intensity, wide range of influence and very fast developments, posing urgent requirements in prevention and control work.

Chairman of Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Hoang Giang issued a telegram requesting to focus on responding to storm No. 13.

The province has activated response plans at the highest level; mobilized all police, military, border guards, and militia forces to be ready to assist people in evacuating, reinforce houses, and ensure safety in vulnerable areas.

Reporting at the working session on the morning of November 6 with the Central Working Group led by Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang and Senior Lieutenant General Pham Truong Son, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Do Tam Hien said: the whole province currently has 6,422 fishing boats, of which 197 boats with 2,763 workers are operating in the open sea, the rest have come ashore or are anchored safely.

From 7:00 p.m. on November 5, the province banned all boats from going to sea and required them to complete anchoring and securing their vessels before 5:00 p.m. the same day.

Regarding reservoir safety, large irrigation reservoirs such as Nuoc Trong and Dakdrinh have proactively lowered water levels to welcome floods; river water levels are still below alert level 1.

Quang Ngai evacuated people to safe areas before the storm made landfall in Binh Son commune.

The province has also developed a detailed evacuation scenario, corresponding to the situation of a strong storm of level 10-11, gusting to level 12. It is expected that 26,774 households with 89,416 people in 77 communes and wards need to be evacuated to safe places; of which, coastal areas and Ly Son island must be completed before 13:00 on November 6.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee directed the education sector and businesses to flexibly allow students and workers to take time off from school and work when the wind is strong to ensure safety; at the same time, he requested the grassroots information system, especially loudspeakers and mobile text messages, to continuously inform about the storm's developments "to every alley, knocking on every door".

In his directive speech, Senior Lieutenant General Pham Truong Son requested Quang Ngai not to be subjective and to absolutely put the safety of people's lives first. The armed forces need to coordinate closely with the locality, carefully check areas at risk of landslides and deep flooding to evacuate people early and prepare adequate means, materials and human resources for rescue work.

As of noon on November 6, the entire Quang Ngai province had completed the evacuation of more than 26,700 households with over 89,400 people. The coastal area alone had 8,100 households with 25,600 people; the western area had 7,000 households with 23,700 people; at the same time, 4,000 households were urgently evacuated at 301 landslide-prone locations in 49 communes.

Binh Son Commune Government (Quang Ngai) supports the evacuation of people in dangerous areas.

Schools, hotels, and government offices are being requisitioned as temporary shelters, ensuring essential conditions for people.

Proactively prevent oil spills on stranded Star Bueno

Along with storm response, Quang Ngai province is coordinating with the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of National Defense to handle the incident of the Star Bueno ship (Liberian nationality, nearly 179,000 DWT) running aground in Dung Quat waters.

According to the report of Quang Ngai Maritime Port Authority, the ship carrying 174,790 tons of iron ore, traveling from South Africa to Dung Quat, drifted from anchor and ran aground on October 26 due to bad weather. By October 29, the ship had freed itself and anchored safely.

In response to the developments of storm No. 13, from November 1-5, the Vietnam Maritime Administration and Waterways, together with international rescue units and shipowner representatives, held an urgent meeting under the direct direction of Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Do Tam Hien to agree on a plan to prevent storms and oil spills.

Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee requested a plan to respond to oil spills if the Star Bueno ship sank.

The ship was moved to a suitable depth, two anchors were dropped, fuel tanks and cargo hatch covers were sealed to prevent oil leaks. By the afternoon of November 5, all 22 crew members had been brought safely ashore.

The Central Oil Spill Response Center has also deployed forces, placed buoys around the ship, and is on duty 24/7 to prevent marine pollution. The ship is currently stable, not obstructing shipping lanes, and is being closely monitored.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang emphasized the need to develop a response plan for the worst-case scenario, with special attention paid to the risk of oil spills and impacts on the marine environment.

He requested central and local forces to coordinate synchronously, prepare adequate means, equipment and human resources, and be ready to deploy rescue when necessary, including plans to mobilize international support if the incident exceeds domestic response capacity.

The Provincial People's Committee was assigned to promptly inform the people to proactively prevent; at the same time, the Vietnam Maritime Administration and Waterways reviewed and counted all available forces, vehicles, equipment and supplies, ready for emergency situations.

On November 6, more than 350 officers and soldiers of Division 2 (Military Region 5) mobilized to communes in Gia Lai province to support people in responding to the storm, evacuating dozens of households and reinforcing hundreds of houses in heavy rain conditions, demonstrating the spirit of "Forgetting oneself for the people", contributing to minimizing damage and ensuring the safety of people's lives and property.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/quang-ngai-bao-dam-an-toan-cao-nhat-cho-nguoi-dan-10394712.html