Vietnam hopes international partners will continue to support flood recovery after storm

Photo caption — Phu Coc village, Hop Thinh commune ( Bac Ninh ) was heavily flooded, people had to use boats to get around. Photo: Danh Lam/VNA

On behalf of the Government of Vietnam, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Hoang Hiep expressed sincere thanks to all partners, international organizations and individuals who have always accompanied and supported Vietnam in the work of preventing and mitigating natural disaster risks.

In 2024, partners supported Vietnam with about 25 million USD and thousands of tons of relief goods, making an important contribution to helping people overcome difficulties after natural disasters. The Vietnamese people were truly touched and appreciated that valuable, timely and effective support.

In 2025, natural disasters in Vietnam will continue to become more complex and extreme. Although Vietnam has made efforts to implement many prevention and response solutions, in reality, many natural disasters occur at a level that exceeds the tolerance of the people and the existing prevention system.

In particular, in recent times, storms and post-storm circulations have caused serious damage to people and property. The total estimated damage to date has reached 35,000 billion VND, equivalent to about 1.3 billion USD - accounting for nearly 50% of the total damage caused by natural disasters in 2024. National GDP growth has also been affected, decreasing by about 0.2 percentage points, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep said.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep also said that the natural disaster pattern is clearly changing: There are storms that move very quickly at sea but slow down when they reach the mainland, causing prolonged heavy rain. In particular, late-season storms are making landfall in the North - something rarely seen in previous patterns. Currently, flood levels in many areas have exceeded historical levels, making the risk of prolonged flooding and landslides very high.

In this situation, the Vietnamese Government is proactively implementing response measures and supporting policies; at the same time, we hope to continue to receive the companionship and support of our partners. Through the meeting, Vietnam hopes to share updates on the natural disaster situation, priority support needs, as well as agree on a mechanism for transporting and distributing relief goods quickly and effectively.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep also shared that essential goods serving people's lives such as food, drinking water, water filtration equipment, household utensils, disinfectants... are extremely urgent. In addition, restoring housing and production after natural disasters is a key task. According to preliminary statistics, nearly 100% of houses in flood-affected areas are damaged and need to be repaired. Although the Vietnamese Government will issue a resolution with a support mechanism to restore production, domestic resources are not enough, and cooperation from international organizations is needed.

Essential infrastructure works such as medical stations, schools, and government headquarters also need to be restored and put into operation as soon as possible to ensure stable life, restore production, and maintain public services, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep said.

Regarding the coordination mechanism, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep proposed maintaining the same approach as in 2024, with the participation of field assessment survey teams. “If all goes well, tomorrow the working group will begin surveying the most severely affected areas. Thereby, we can assign tasks in accordance with the strengths of each partner, promoting overall effectiveness in emergency support and post-disaster recovery,” Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep proposed.

Ms. Pauline Tamesis, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Viet Nam, also deeply sympathized with the Government and people of Viet Nam on the enormous loss of life and property caused by natural disasters in recent times. The United Nations in Viet Nam always stands side by side with Viet Nam not only in emergency response but also in long-term programs to enhance community resilience and adaptation.

This year, Vietnam is facing floods of unprecedented scale and intensity, which have particularly affected the most vulnerable groups in society. The United Nations will continue to work with the Government of Vietnam in disaster response, mobilizing resources, experts, and techniques to provide effective support, especially in the context of increasingly limited international resources.

According to Ms. Pauline Tamesis, from practical experience, especially in responding to Typhoon Yagi in 2024, valuable lessons have been drawn on the effectiveness of synchronous coordination. Partners will promote their own strengths, mobilize the most appropriate and practical support according to the capacity and expertise of each organization, to ensure that all support reaches the right place, at the right time and according to the right needs.

At the meeting, a number of partners informed about their quick support to some provinces and cities damaged by recent natural disasters. The partners all wished to soon deploy a survey team to soon have a plan and support plan that is quick, timely and most effective.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep directed the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control to quickly make plans and possibly establish three working groups to travel on three routes: Tuyen Quang and Phu Tho; Cao Bang and Lang Son; Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/viet-nam-mong-muon-cac-doi-tac-quoc-te-tiep-tuc-ho-tro-khac-phuc-hau-qua-lu-lut-sau-bao-20251009172147953.htm