Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) performance
Secretariat of the Japan
Disaster Relief Team
The following is a report on emergency relief (provision of supplies) to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam as authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 5:33 pm, November 17 (Wed), after consultations with the Ministry of Finance.
1. Emergency Situation
Record amounts of rain have fallen in the central region of Vietnam since the beginning of November, with some areas reporting over 1,300 mm falling with in a 24-hour period. As a result, rivers have flooded in all of the affected areas, and the number of dead and missing has been reported at approximately 600, many of them in the city of Da Nang. Large-scale damage to buildings, crops, etc., has also been reported.
total number affected: approx. 1 million
destroyed houses/buildings: approx. 10,000
flooded houses/buildings: approx. 470,000
affected farm areas: approx. 60,000 ha
damaged bridges: 1,470
2. Response of the Vietnamese Government
The government of Vietnam established an emergency response committee on November 2. The government has also mobilized naval and air forces to engage in rescue operations, and ordered all related government agencies to perform relief activities. On November 9 the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry made a request for emergency supplies to all diplomatic missions, international agencies and NGOs based in Hanoi.
3. Response of the International Community
(1) Netherlands $50,000
(2) Germany $270,000
(3) USA $475,000
(4) Thailand $25,400
(5) Cuba $100,000
(6) France $50,000
(7) WFP $200,000
(8) UNICEF $111,000
(9) UNDP $75,000
(10) International Red Cross $66,000
4. Response of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and JICA
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs received the request from the Vietnamese government, and after consultations with the Ministry of Finance, authorized provision of the following items through JICA:
Breakdown of supplies (from the JICA warehouse in Singapore)
blankets : 7,700
plastic sheeting (rolls) : 250
Estimated cost of relief supplies: approx. \24.9 million
Transport schedule: arrangements are being made for transport to Hanoi on the earliest possible flight.
5. Additional Remarks
The implementation of this emergency
relief is not simply a humanitarian effort on the part of Japan; it is
also seen as an effective way of furthering the new close relationship
developed between the two countries.
Vietnam's position in the international community has steadily risen in
recent years. In 1998 the country became a formal member of APEC, and in
December of the same year it has host to the 6th ASEAN Official Summit.
Vietnam is actively fulfilling its role as a member of APEC.
All Rights Reserved, Copyright (C) 1999, Japan International Cooperation
Agency