Deputy PM orders safety be ensured for central residents amid historic flooding

The senior government official paid working visits to several flood-hit localities in the region on October 20.

This afternoon, Dung inspected the flood response work at Ke Go Lake, Cam Xuyen District, Ha Tinh Province, and offered encouragement to the flood victims there.

He emphasised that the top task now is ensuring the safe operation of the lake amid the heavy rains and severe flooding that are still progressing complicatedly.

The deputy PM asked Ha Tinh Province and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to cooperate with relevant localities and agencies to regularly monitor all dam routes and promptly handle any issues that arise.

After surveying the lake, Dung worked with Ha Tinh leaders and the forces directly coping with floods in the locality.

Against the new storm that is approaching the central region, he asked the province to stay alert against prolonged heavy rains that pose high risk of landslides and incidents for irrigation works and hydropower projects.

The deputy PM urged Ha Tinh to actively coordinate with the relevant ministries and agencies to develop proactive plans to effectively respond to all possible situations, with a focus on reviewing dangerous areas to thoroughly evacuating people as well as ensuring enough food, medicine and water for them.

Latest statistics from the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response showed that from October 6 to 19, severe floods have left 132 people dead or missing. 177,921 households in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri have been inundated.

Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Tri have evacuated 52,115 households with 90,953 people. In Quang Binh alone, 22,979 households were move to safer places.

Meanwhile, the reported tropical depression strengthened into a new storm this morning, internationally known as Saudel, forcing the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Response to convene an urgent meeting to discuss measures to cope with.

It is forecasted that by 4 am tomorrow (Oct 21), the storm will enter the East Sea (South China Sea) and become the No. 8 hurricane to hit the East Sea so far this year. The storm has complicated changes and is likely to grow stronger over the next three days.