Government to allocate VND1 trillion to flood-hit localities

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the meeting with local authorities of Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen provinces on November 30 - Credit: VGP

The PM’s decision was announced on November 30 during his trip to the south central provinces of Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen, which have suffered devastating consequences from the storm.

Of the sum, Phu Yen will receive VND170 billion (US$7.48 million) while Khanh Hoa will receive VND260 billion (US$11.44 million). At the same time, each locality will be supported with 1,000 tonnes of rice.

At a working session with leaders of the two provinces in Khanh Hoa province’s Nha Trang city the same day, PM Phuc stressed that there is no absolutely safe area in the context of climate change, urging the local Party Committees and authorities to pay attention to raising public awareness of flood prevention.

He underlined the need for the two localities to consider overcoming storm consequences an important political task, aiming to ensure normal life of people as well as production activities, especially industrial and agricultural production.

Specific action programmes should be rolled out by each sector and locality to support flood-hit residents, the PM said.

He asked the two provinces to scale up vigilance and firmly request residents living in natural disaster-prone areas to evacuate to safer places, avoiding human losses.

Apart from dealing with consequences of downpours and floods, Khanh Hoa and provinces should heed socio-economic development, PM Phuc said.

The leader also assigned tasks to Military Zone 5, the ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade, Finance, and Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the State Bank of Vietnam, asking them to joint these efforts.

Typhoon Damrey, the 12th storm in the East Sea so far this year, caused the worst damage to Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen.

The disaster has left 45 people dead and 229 others injured in Khanh Hoa, destroyed hundreds of thousands of houses and 36,300ha of crops, killed 370,000 heads of cattle and poultry, and washed away and damaged aquaculture facilities. Total economic loss suffered by the province amounted to VND14.7 trillion (US$646.8 million).

Meanwhile, Phu Yen province burdened damage worth nearly VND3.5 trillion (US$154 million).