Emergency handling instructions for dike incidents

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just issued a Circular guiding the maintenance of dikes and emergency handling of dike incidents. Accordingly, the process of planning for dike maintenance and repair from the central budget. The urgency of maintenance and repair to ensure the safety of dikes, prevent degradation, and meet the requirements of flood and storm prevention and control; The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall organize the planning of dike maintenance and repair before June 15 every year, and send it to the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control for inspection and synthesis.

Vietnam's dike system is large-scale with a total of 9,080 km of dikes of all types.

Based on the total budget for dike maintenance and repair allocated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the current status of dikes and the characteristics of each locality, the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control approves the budget, including the budget for the local dike maintenance and repair plan implemented by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; Total budget for emergency (urgent) handling of dike incidents. Based on the approved budget, the current status of dikes, standards, technical regulations, unit prices, norms and current regulations, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development organizes the preparation of a project or an economic-technical report (for contents with a construction component) or an outline - estimate (for contents without a construction component), and submits it to the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control for appraisal and approval.

Investing in building a dike system helps develop the socio-economy, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction.

After the project, economic-technical report or outline-estimate are approved, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall prepare a plan for selecting contractors, submit it to the Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention for approval and organize the implementation of the next steps to ensure compliance with the provisions of law on construction and bidding. Regarding the content that the Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention shall organize the implementation: Based on the approved budget, requirements, management tasks, standards, technical regulations, unit prices, norms and current regulations, the Department of Dyke Management and Disaster Prevention shall organize the preparation, appraisal and approval of the outline-estimate, and approve the plan for selecting contractors for implementation. When a dike incident is detected, the specialized agency performing the task of state management of dikes under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall specifically inspect the location of the incident and report in writing, proposing solutions. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall inspect the incident, report, advise the Provincial People's Committee to direct competent agencies to deploy solutions to ensure dike safety and report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development through the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control. Based on the report of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control shall conduct a field inspection and provide written opinions on the policy and funding for incident handling. After receiving written opinions from the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control on the policy and funding for incident handling, the Provincial People's Committee shall direct the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to organize the preparation of an emergency (urgent) handling plan (project) and submit it to the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control for appraisal and approval for implementation. The dossier components are specified in Appendix III issued with this Circular. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for submitting to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee a decision to declare a natural disaster emergency situation in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 of Decree No. 66/2021/ND-CP dated July 6, 2021 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the Law on Dikes to organize urgent (urgent) handling of dike incidents. The organization of the implementation of urgent (urgent) projects to handle dike incidents is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of Decree No. 66/2021/ND-CP. In case of detecting a dike incident during a storm or flood, it must be repaired immediately to ensure the safety of the dike system. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall report to the Provincial People's Committee to deploy timely response measures, then complete the report file and submit it to the Department of Dike Management and Disaster Prevention and Control for approval. The preparation and implementation of a plan for dike maintenance and emergency (urgent) handling of dike incidents from the local budget shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance of the Provincial People's Committee and current regulations.

Dan Hung