Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and city leaders inspected the flooding situation on Chi Lang Street (Phu Xuan Ward).

Attending the meeting were Party Central Committee member, Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Van Gau; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep; Deputy Minister of Construction Le Anh Tuan. On the side of Hue City, there were Party Central Committee member, Secretary of the City Party Committee Nguyen Dinh Trung; Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the City People's Committee Phan Thien Dinh; Member of the City Party Committee, Permanent Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh.

Widespread flooding

At the meeting, Deputy Secretary of the City Party Committee, Chairman of the Hue City People 's Committee Phan Thien Dinh reported that this was one of the floods with the highest intensity and rainfall in many years, seriously affecting people's lives and urban infrastructure. The flood peak on the Bo River this time exceeded the level of the historic flood in 1999. On the Huong River, the flood peak nearly reached the level of 1999. This is a very special flood, rare in the past decades.

Prolonged heavy rains caused the water level on the Huong River and the Bo River to rise, overflowing their banks, causing widespread flooding in 32 communes and wards, many of which were 1-2m deep. The entire city had more than 44,500 houses flooded, many inner-city roads were cut off, and traffic was almost paralyzed during the two peak days of October 27 and 28.

According to initial statistics, 1 person died and 1 person is missing. More than 201,000 households temporarily lost power, 1,479 transformer stations had to cut off power to ensure safety...

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha visited and encouraged people of Phu Xuan ward.

Chairman of the City People's Committee Phan Thien Dinh informed that hydroelectric and irrigation reservoirs in the area are still safe, operating effectively to cut floods, contributing to reducing flood peaks at measuring stations by 0.2 - 0.3m compared to the worst scenario. However, prolonged heavy rains have caused 38 landslides in the area, including many dangerous locations on national highways, provincial roads and mountainous areas such as Khe Tre, Binh Dien, National Highway 49.

Faced with heavy losses caused by floods, Hue City has requested the Government to provide emergency support of 2 tons of dry food, 10 tons of Cloramin B, 20 tons of Benkocid, 2 tons of vegetable seeds, 5 tons of corn seeds, 50,000 doses of foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, 2 million doses of avian influenza vaccine, along with 30 DT3 boats and 6 generators for rescue. The city has requested support of 500 billion VND to restore essential infrastructure and 1,000 billion VND to urgently handle traffic, irrigation and dyke works. At the same time, it has requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to soon deploy the construction of O Lau Thuong lake to reduce flooding downstream.

Response work is deployed drastically and synchronously.

As early as October 26, the People's Committee of Hue City issued an urgent dispatch, activating the entire disaster prevention system at the city and grassroots levels, assigning leaders to be in charge of each key area. Working groups of the City Party Committee and People's Committee directly went to the grassroots to inspect and direct response, especially in low-lying areas.

As of the morning of October 28, 1,759 households with more than 4,500 people in 32 communes and wards had been safely evacuated. The armed forces mobilized nearly 3,000 military officers and soldiers, 2,000 police officers, and thousands of militia and youth union members to participate in evacuating people, conducting rescue operations, and regulating traffic.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a working session with Hue city.

The city's information and communication agencies have played the role of "digital command center", continuously updating developments and guiding people to respond via the Hue-S platform, Hue IOC and smart communication system. In just two days, October 27-28, there were more than 6 million views and 2.1 million accesses to flood warning information via these platforms.

“We have determined that this flood response is not only a natural disaster prevention task, but also a test of Hue’s smart urban management capacity. All information channels and all forces are fully mobilized to ensure absolute safety for the people,” Mr. Dinh emphasized.

The City People's Committee has implemented a plan to stockpile goods to prevent natural disasters and ensure essential goods for people in flooded areas. The education sector has temporarily suspended school from October 27 to ensure safety. Relief work, supporting people's livelihoods, restoring electricity, water and environmental sanitation are prioritized as soon as the water recedes.

"Don't let people be passive and surprised in floods"

Sharing the heavy damage caused by floods in Hue, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized that this is a historic natural disaster, with rainfall and flooding levels exceeding many previous levels, deeply affecting the spiritual life and property of the people and local authorities.

The Deputy Prime Minister praised the inter-reservoir operation and the timely direction and forecasting from the central to local levels. Compared to the 2020 flood, this natural disaster was assessed as being of the right severity, thanks to the good preparation of the government and the increasing response skills of the people, contributing to minimizing damage.

Appreciating the deployment of response forces and means, the Deputy Prime Minister said that although most of the city was deeply flooded, Hue proactively deployed response scenarios, allocated forces reasonably and controlled the situation. At the same time, he suggested that the locality continue to promote this spirit, better prepare for complicated flood developments that may last 2-3 days.

Chairman of Hue City People's Committee Phan Thien Dinh informed about the flood situation in the area in recent days.

The Deputy Prime Minister paid special attention to ensuring uninterrupted communication, a key factor in directing, providing relief and connecting support to the people. Immediately after the meeting, competent agencies and telecommunications enterprises need to urgently fix problems and ensure communication in isolated areas.

In mountainous areas, special vigilance is needed against the risk of flash floods, landslides and landslides. The Deputy Prime Minister requested localities to resolutely evacuate people from dangerous areas, promptly assess and handle high-risk areas. At the same time, proactively ensure food, drinking water, medicine and means of transport for deep flooded areas; if there is a shortage, it is necessary to immediately propose to the Central Government for support.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned ministries and branches to specifically grasp Hue's proposals, especially the investment and renovation of irrigation infrastructure and reservoirs such as Ta Trach Lake and O Lau River, to increase the ability to regulate water and adapt to climate change.

At the same time, he emphasized that after the flood recedes, forces need to urgently coordinate to overcome the consequences of floods, ensure environmental sanitation, water sources, prevent epidemics and support production recovery.

“This is a challenging period for the capacity of the two-tier local government model. It is necessary to reassess the adaptability, thereby building a sustainable development mindset and living safely with natural disasters,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

The Deputy Prime Minister also asked the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and mass organizations to closely coordinate in relief work, mobilize social resources, and join hands to help Hue people soon stabilize their lives after the floods.

Previously, visiting households deeply flooded on Chi Lang Street, Phu Xuan Ward, Hue City, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha acknowledged the proactive spirit, solidarity and awareness of natural disaster prevention of the local government and people in responding to the historic flood. The Deputy Prime Minister kindly asked about the living situation, shared difficulties, and encouraged people to try to overcome the damage and soon stabilize their lives after the flood.

Le Tho

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/theo-dong-thoi-su/tap-trung-cao-nhat-ung-pho-mua-lu-lich-su-bao-ve-an-toan-cho-nguoi-dan-159315.html