Deputy PM Tran Luu Quang chairs a conference on natural disaster prevention and control

On January 24, chairing a conference summing up natural disaster prevention and control, and search and rescue works last year and putting forward key tasks for 2024 held in Hanoi, Deputy Prime MinisterQuang requested the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control to proactively carry out its task to minimise damage to people and property.

Ministries and localities must maintain the principle ‘prevention is better than cure’. They must provide timely information and instructions to people, including by phone messages, so people can protect themselves, and actively participate in the work of preventing, combating and overcoming natural disaster consequences.

The Deputy Prime Minister required ministries and sectors to strengthen international cooperation to learn from experience and call for external resources.

Science and technology should be further applied to improve the prevention effectiveness and quick recovery after natural disasters.

From the beginning of 2023 to January 10 this year, the country suffered more than 5,300 disasters, killing 924 people, injuring 977, and leaving more than 200 others missing. As many as 1,740 factories and market kiosks were affected, while 1,346ha of forest were destroyed.

Disasters also damaged 15,977 houses, 115km of dikes, embankments and canals, more than 700 irrigation works and nearly 200 temporary bridges.

They swept away more than 151,200ha of rice and crops, damaged more than 3,500ha of aquaculture area, and killed over 75,000 cattle and poultry heads.

Economic losses due to natural disasters totalled about 8.2 trillion VND (332 million USD).

During the period, ministries and localities assigned 204,500 people and more than 23,100 vehicles to cope with natural disasters.

Ministries and localities moved more than 962,000 people and over 201,000 vehicles to safe places.

They instructed 328,227 ships with more than 1.6 million fishermen to proactively avoid storms and tropical depressions.