Prime Minister talks about the life-or-death decision to keep Thac Ba dam and Hoang Long dike

This was shared by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh when delivering his concluding remarks at the online conference to review, evaluate and draw lessons from the work of preventing and overcoming the consequences of storm No. 3 (storm Yagi) on the morning of September 28.

Storm and flood leave 344 people dead and missing, nearly 2,000 injured

Summarizing storm No. 3, the Prime Minister emphasized some characteristics such as the storm continuously increasing in level very quickly (from level 8 to level 16, gusting to level 17 in 48 hours), lasting for many hours on land.

The storm circulation caused heavy rain and floods, affecting 26 provinces and cities, affecting a wide area and many subjects; causing serious spiritual and material consequences for the people and the country; the recovery was costly, lasting many years and there were irreparable losses, such as the loss of life and missing people; the mental trauma of a part of the people still lasted.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the Conference (Photo: Doan Bac).

According to the head of the Government, the warning and forecasting work is basically good, close to the situation, early, from afar, but there are still errors such as not being able to predict early the storm with gusts of level 17 when it hits the shore and lingers inland; the storm circulation, heavy rain lasting over a large area, up to 700mm in some places; the forecast of water volume in dams, lakes, and large rivers is not close to reality. The reason is that equipment is limited, investment in forecasting work is not commensurate.

The Prime Minister assessed that the damage caused by storm No. 3 and the floods following the storm is still very large. As of September 26, the storm and floods have left 344 people dead or missing, and nearly 2,000 injured.

Regarding assets, over 260,000 houses and 1,900 schools had their roofs blown off, were damaged, collapsed, or swept away by floods; a series of energy, telecommunications, transportation, irrigation, and dike infrastructure projects suffered incidents; nearly 350,000 hectares of rice, crops, and fruit trees were flooded and damaged; 8,100 cages and rafts, 31,000 hectares of aquaculture were damaged; over 4.5 million livestock and poultry died; hundreds of hectares of agricultural land were silted up and destroyed by water...

However, the work to overcome the consequences of storms and floods has been carried out very drastically and promptly, according to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The Prime Minister has directed the provision of over 400 tons of rice, 350 billion VND and many rescue equipment, medical supplies and other necessities to promptly support localities in providing relief to people.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Vietnam Red Cross Society have mobilized and received cash and material support worth over VND1,760 billion. International organizations and countries have provided cash and material relief worth over USD22 million.

Besides, many localities across the country, many organizations and individuals have directly supported localities and people affected by natural disasters to overcome difficulties.

Rebuild houses for people who lost their property before December 31

The Prime Minister highlighted a number of important lessons learned.

First, forecasts and warnings must be timely, accurate, and from afar.

Second, leaders and directors must closely follow the situation, be resolute, decisive, dare to take responsibility, have a focus, all for the benefit of the nation, people, and country.

The Prime Minister presented 5 lessons learned in dealing with storms and floods (Photo: Doan Bac).

Third, put the goal of protecting the lives, health, and property of the people and the state above all else, first of all to mobilize all resources of society and the state, especially the 4 on-site motto for prevention and overcoming consequences.

Fourth, sectors and levels must base on the functions, tasks, powers and directions of superiors and the actual situation to proactively and actively implement tasks and solutions.

Fifth, attach importance to information and communication work on the actual situation and guidance and dissemination of skills to respond to, prevent, and overcome the consequences of storms and floods.

He cited that to ensure the safety of Thac Ba dam, the agencies made important decisions to both divert floodwaters upstream, prepare plans to destroy auxiliary dams in the midstream, evacuate people downstream, be ready to respond to the worst situation, and choose the best option among possible options to minimize damage.

Similarly, to ensure the safety of Hoang Long dike (Ninh Binh), the operation of Hoa Binh hydropower plant must be stopped and the operation of Son La and Lai Chau hydropower plants must be increased.

In the coming time, the Prime Minister emphasized that the goal is still to ensure that no one is left without food, clothing, hunger, cold, or shelter; that students go to school early, and patients receive medical treatment; that the people's situation is quickly stabilized, that production and business are restored, that economic growth is actively promoted, and that inflation is well controlled.

The Head of Government called for promoting the spirit of "each person doing the work of two", unaffected areas such as the Central region, the Central Highlands, and the South to compensate for areas in the North affected by storms and floods, striving for higher growth and achieving higher socio-economic development results.

Emphasizing a number of additional tasks, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance to review and propose funding to support localities from the reserve budget, ensuring appropriateness and fairness among localities.

Thac Ba Hydroelectric Plant (Photo: thacba.vn).

For families who lost their homes and had to rebuild, relevant localities and ministries must complete the reconstruction by December 31st with hard walls, hard floors, and hard roofs.

The Prime Minister requested to complete the repair of schools, hospitals, and clinics by October 2024; if there are any missing mechanisms and policies, propose them to the Government; at the same time, review and fully implement policies for affected subjects.

Regarding the collapsed Phong Chau bridge, the Prime Minister requested ministries and Phu Tho province to complete the reconstruction by 2025 at the latest. If mechanisms and policies are needed, they should be reported to the Government.

Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/thu-tuong-ke-ve-quyet-dinh-song-con-de-giu-dap-thac-ba-de-hoang-long-20240928134819774.htm