One time of subjectivity, the consequences will be very serious

On the afternoon of September 5, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired an online meeting with ministries and 28 provinces and cities on response to storm No. 3. At the Hanoi end, there were Head of the Propaganda Department of the City Party Committee Nguyen Doan Toan, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen and representatives of a number of relevant departments and units.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to respond to storm No. 3.

Storm causes floods from September 7 to 10

At the meeting, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Mai Van Khiem said that on the afternoon of September 5, the center of storm No. 3 was about 420km east of Hainan Island (China). The storm's intensity is increasing rapidly, currently reaching level 16, gusting to level 17.

In the coming hours, the storm will continue to maintain its intensity, moving west at a speed of 10 - 15 km/h. It is expected that in the evening of September 7, the storm will make landfall in the Northern region (from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh) with an intensity of level 9 - 12, gusting to level 13 - 14.

Also according to Mr. Mai Van Khiem, due to the impact of storm No. 3, from the night of September 6 to 9, the provinces of Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Lang Son, Ha Giang, Phu Tho, Hoa Binh, the Northern Delta and Thanh Hoa will have rain; the expected rainfall is from 150 - 350mm, in some places over 500mm. Other places in the Northeast will have rain from 100 - 150mm.

From September 7 to 10, a flood occurred on the rivers and streams of the North and Thanh Hoa with the flood peak on Thao, Cau, Thuong, and Luc Nam rivers at alert level (A) 1 - A2; Lo River at A1; Hoang Long River at A2; small rivers and upstream rivers in Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, and Hoa Binh are likely to reach A2 - A3.

Pham Duc Luan, Director of the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), warned that in the Northern and North Central regions, there are currently 343 damaged, degraded and under-construction reservoirs. There are 37 key vulnerable points on the sea dykes and river dykes in coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Nghe An. The risk of being affected when a storm makes landfall is very high.

Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen informed at the meeting to respond to storm No. 3.

Ministries and localities proactively respond

According to the report of the Border Guard Command, as of the afternoon of September 5, the coastal border guards had counted and guided more than 51,300 ships with nearly 220,000 people, including nearly 1,600 ships with over 10,000 people operating in the Gulf of Tonkin. The vehicles have received the information and are moving to take shelter.

Coastal areas and seas of provinces and cities from Quang Ninh to Ha Tinh currently have 52,176 hectares, 19,343 cages, rafts and 3,906 watchtowers for aquaculture. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assessed the risk of damage as very high when the storm enters the Gulf of Tonkin with intensity of level 13 - 14, gusting to level 17. Currently, localities have deployed reinforcement of cages, rafts and aquaculture areas.

Chairman of Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee Cao Tuong Huy said that with the highest spirit of readiness, the province has established 4 working groups to go to the grassroots to grasp the situation and directly direct the response to storm No. 3. The province has also mobilized more than 2,000 people, organized on-duty forces to proactively handle natural disasters.

“Currently, only 16 ships are still near the shore and are on their way back to the mainland. For the 154 tourists still on the islands, we are continuing to bring them ashore, or informing and requesting accommodation facilities to ensure safety if they remain on the islands. It is expected that tomorrow morning, the province will ban the sea…” - Mr. Cao Tuong Huy added.

For Hanoi, on September 4, 2024, the Hanoi People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 10/CD-UBND on proactively responding to storm No. 3 in 2024. Previously, on September 3, the Hanoi Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Control and Search and Rescue also issued Official Dispatch No. 141/BCH to districts, towns, departments, branches and sectors.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen said that Hanoi has now developed a plan to prevent the storm from making landfall; a plan to respond to the storm when it makes landfall and a plan to overcome the consequences after the storm. In particular, the task of reviewing dangerous and vulnerable areas is focused on ensuring the highest level of safety for people.

The City People's Committee also requested localities and units, based on their assigned functions and tasks, to proactively and closely monitor weather and natural disaster warnings and forecasts to promptly and regularly notify and guide authorities at all levels and people to proactively prevent, avoid and respond to adverse situations that may occur.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha speaks at the meeting to respond to storm No. 3.

Maximize the spirit of "4 on-site "

Speaking at a meeting on the afternoon of September 5, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha assessed that storm No. 3 is a very strong storm, with a very high level of natural disaster risk. The storm making landfall is likely to have a major impact on the lives of people in many localities.

“In just a few days, the Prime Minister issued two Official Dispatches No. 86/CD-TTg and 87/CD-TTg, to direct the focus on emergency response to storm No. 3 and the floods after the storm. This affirms that the Government is very concerned about the developments and impacts of the storm on people's lives...." - The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said that in response to natural disasters, raising vigilance, promoting the spirit of “4 on-the-spot” and coordinating well in response are extremely important factors. Therefore, he requested ministries, branches and localities to continue to pay attention to and perform well the above tasks.

In the coming hours, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha requested that specialized agencies continue to do a good job of forecasting. In particular, focusing on the quality of forecast information so that people can visualize the level and risk of the storm's impact, thereby taking proactive measures to prevent it.

“Our motto is to be proactive in prevention. It can happen once in 10 times, but if we are subjective just once, the consequences will be very serious…” - The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the need to not be subjective in responding to natural disasters.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha also requested ministries, sectors and localities to do a good job of inspection, supervision and coordination in responding to and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters. Only when everyone acts together will the response be effective; therefore, each organization and each force needs to have an action plan and do their job well.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, the storm's circulation area is very large, which can cause widespread and prolonged rain in many localities, leading to the risk of flash floods and landslides. Therefore, ministries and localities need to regularly update warning maps to focus on checking and reviewing dangerous areas and proactively evacuating people to safety.

 

“Storm No. 3 is considered the strongest storm in many years. There have been many lessons learned due to subjectivity in natural disasters that we have had to learn. Therefore, we request that ministries, branches and localities focus on responding in the spirit of not being subjective, not waiting and being proactive to minimize the damage caused by storm No. 3…” - Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan .

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/pho-thu-tuong-tran-hong-ha-mot-lan-chu-quan-hau-qua-se-rat-nang-ne.html