According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF), the developments of weather patterns and natural disasters in 2018 will continue to be complicated and unpredictable.
The number of storms and tropical depressions in the East Sea is forecast to be equal to the average for many years (around 12-13 storms per year) and nearly 4-5 storms will directly affect the country’s mainland.
This year, to minimize the damage to be caused by natural disasters, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked localities to strengthen the management of dykes and prepare for flood prevention.
Localities should mobilize financial resources to handle unexpected incidents before and during the flood season while upgrading dyke systems to mitigate future damages.
In 2017, the country’s river and sea dyke system was seriously damaged by floods and typhoons, especially the over 55km sea dyke from the northern port city of Hai Phong to the central coastal province of Thua Thien-Hue.
Localities voiced their hope that the Government and centrally-run ministries will provide more financial support to help them build and upgrade dykes annually to prevent floods and storms effectively.
The Government has issued Resolution 76/NQ-CP on natural disaster prevention and climate change adaptation with specific goal by 2025 of reducing 30 percent of human losses caused by natural disasters with similar intensity and scale to those occurring in 2015-2020.
Authorities at all levels, organisations, and households across the country will receive full information on natural calamities, while training courses will be opened for natural disaster prevention forces to provide them with necessary skills.
According to the resolution, among the general solutions to natural disaster prevention are improving the resilience of infrastructure, reinforcing and upgrading the river and sea dyke systems as well as water reservoirs and storm shelters, and improving water drainage.
Vietnam is one of the five countries hardest hit by natural disasters. Over the past two decades, natural disasters left over 400 people dead and missing each year, caused economic losses equal to about 1-1.5 percent of GDP, and affected people’s living environment and conditions, as well as socio-economic activities and sustainable development of the country.
In 2017, a record number of 16 typhoons and four low pressures occurred in the East Sea. The storms claimed the lives of 386 people, damaged more than 600,000 houses and caused economic losses of about VND60 trillion ($2.64 billion ), with the worst typhoons being Doksuri and Damrey.
