‘In 10 years, the Central Region will not be able to recover as it was before the floods’



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On November 28, the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development responded to VnExpress about the damage, lessons from rain and flooding in Central Vietnam, plans to rebuild production.

– How do you evaluate the damage caused by natural disasters in the Central region in October-November?

– Natural calamities are increasingly fierce, storms and floods in the Central region have never been so terrible. 249 people died, 57 disappeared, more than 1,500 houses collapsed; Almost 240,000 other houses were damaged, leaving homeless.

Agriculture was severely damaged with 4,000 hectares of rice, 7,600 hectares of crops and 12,670 hectares of aquaculture damaged; 38,500 cattle, 3,200,000 poultry died; 165 km of sea dike, estuary, 50 km of embankment were damaged; 88 points of coastal erosion with a total length of 141 km. The total damage is estimated at 30 billion VND.

Those are just sketchy statistics. Storms and floods have long-term consequences that cannot be calculated in numbers. How many people lost their livelihoods, had to leave their homeland. I went on a field trip, I witnessed many families who had just escaped poverty, they were getting better, they were washed away by the floods, they came back empty-handed, in some places it was like going back to the stone age. In 10 years he will not recover as before. Although the state has immediately granted 30 billion VND, it is still impossible to rebuild the old one.

Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep.  Photo: Tat Dinh.

Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep. Image: Tat Dinh.

– Is the reconstruction plan for agricultural production being implemented as?

– We coordinate with 6 central provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai) that are the most affected to carry out an immediate emergency recovery to meet living standards. , the minimum life of the town.

After the flood, people need clean water, sanitation and sanitation, we call on international organizations and non-governmental organizations to support the installation of 4,000 household water purification kits in 30 communes. ; repair drinking water works, school toilets and medical posts that are deteriorated.

The Ministry has provided free seeds and animals to the town for technical training. To generate income quickly, the Ministry encourages people to grow short-term vegetables and raise poultry and waterfowl. With the help of many social, corporate and local organizations, these works are being done very quickly.

A man from An Xa Commune, Le Thuy Commune, Quang Binh Province, stood in front of his house after the October flood.  Photo: Ngoc Thanh.

A man from An Xa Commune, Le Thuy Commune, Quang Binh Province, stood in front of his house after the October flood. Ngoc Thanh.

We are carefully considering the restoration of irrigation and agricultural production infrastructure. The rains and floods cause the system of pumping stations to become soaked in water, sedimentation, channels, embankments, landslides, affecting the next winter-spring harvest, this must be done quickly. According to economic principles, large works are done at the central level, small local works of the locality. But the locality cannot do everything because it is very difficult.

Rebuilding infrastructure is the most sensitive area due to the large budget. Public opinion may think that these men throw money into the river in the pool. There are difficult reconstruction elements such as bank and coastal erosion. The preliminary estimate of 141 km of coastal erosion, at least 50 billion per km, immediately makes the budget unbearable.

We will be careful, we will apply science and technology, we will prioritize the overcoming of works near residential areas, essential first, for example, coastal erosion in Hoi An.

Personally, I think I should propose some preferential ODA loan packages for the provinces to overcome urgently, with low interest rates and long term; With the capital mechanism, the central government will assign to the localities.

– After a consecutive disaster, what are the lessons that can be learned in response and search and rescue?

– I think we resisted well, but the disaster was too severe. It is beyond human reach. There are opinions that say that the men in charge of natural disaster prevention are exaggerating to scare, but I don’t think so. Faced with a strong storm such as Molave ​​or Vamco, we fight against our houses, evacuate people, call the boats to go to shelter, to take all measures. But when the storm reached level 14, we only knew how to hide, look at each other, and wait for the storm to pass.

In disaster prevention, the forecast of adverse weather is extremely important. Thanks to the application, learning from international models, the forecast of storms at sea was better. But the forecast is not yet close, making it difficult to direct flood control. At any given time, the flood flow to Ta Trach reservoir is forecast to be 900 m / s, actually up to 2000 m / s, which is very dangerous.

Through Vietship 01 ship rescue or landslides, it shows that our rescue team is not professional, lacks equipment and means to ensure safety, capacity is limited.

The management of compliance with natural disaster prevention regulations must be stricter. The Steering Committee recommended electricity to prevent construction workers from being on sites in rainy and flood conditions. Meanwhile, the Rao Trang 3 hydroelectric power station kept workers in the high-risk area, causing landslides.

The scene of the landslide in Tra Leng Commune, Nam Tra My, Quang Nam on October 29.  Photo: Ngoc Thanh.

The scene of the landslide in Tra Leng Commune, Nam Tra My, Quang Nam on October 29. Image: Ngoc Thanh.

In addition, localities should pay attention to disaster alert information. Local newsletters carry general news, flooding up to 2-3 alarm levels without specific warning, how much people’s homes are flooded. With this, people will actively relocate, they will not turn to social media for help.

112 people died, they were missing due to landslides, the cause is very long. Many scientists have analyzed it, I do not repeat. Currently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has issued an erosion alert map, with a relatively large scale of 1: 50,000, which needs to be more detailed. Relocation of people in areas at risk of landslides can be similar to coastal migration during storms. The locality does not have to depend on maps, seeing a lot of rain, the risk is immediate evacuation.

– In your opinion, what measures should be taken to ensure the safety of people living with natural disasters for a long time?

Currently, the provinces are in the planning stage of socio-economic development for the period 2021-2030, an appropriate time for the government to calculate the natural disaster factor. Plan industrial zones and breeding areas to avoid low areas. Construction of schools, public works to avoid floods, storms and storms.

For each family in the Central region, when rebuilding their home after a flood, it is necessary to immediately take into account the reference points of the flood, with solid roofs to avoid storms. It may be more costly, the state provides partial support and mobilization, but it must be done. The temporary home of the great storm crushed again

Several independent charities have built more than 1,000 houseboats during the floods. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, together with the Ministry of Construction, has coordinated the implementation of more than 4,000 homes in the project with the United Nations Development Program. We realize that this is a practical model for people in flooded areas and is setting housing standards for further development.

– In the context of increasing climate change with extraordinary natural disasters, what issues should Vietnam’s long-term response strategy focus on going forward?

– We have developed a Vietnam natural disaster prevention strategy until 2030, with a vision for 2050, and we are consulting with the ministries. This is a long-term strategy that has taken the extreme into account, but still needs more updates.

I believe that the core must continue to be prevention as the key, as I said in the local socioeconomic development plan, it must take into account the factor of natural disasters.

With the conditions of our country, when there is a natural disaster, the terrain is divided, the motto “4 in place” must be maintained (including commanders, forces, materials, means and logistics in place). In fact, like a landslide in Tra Leng (Quang Nam), the force at the site saved 50 people.

Countries subject to many natural disasters, such as Japan, the Philippines, and people are trained in earthquake prevention skills and storm avoidance. We must aim to build safe communities, in which every citizen is equipped with knowledge and skills to prevent natural disasters.

Tat dinh perform

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