In Brief
This Information Bulletin (no. 01/2004)
is being issued for information only. The Federation is not seeking funding
or other assistance from donors for this operation at this time.
The Situation
Thirty four people have been reported dead or missing following landslides and flash floods in the northern province of Ha Giang. Heavy and sustained rainfall from 19 July has resulted in considerable loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. Particularly badly affected are the remote mountainous communes of Du Tien and Du Gia in Yen Minh district in Ha Giang province where mudslides swept away thirty four people and injured another ten. Eighteen houses were destroyed and a number of other houses and a school were badly damaged.
Total damage has been estimated at USD 300,000 and includes damage to people's livelihoods with deaths of livestock (47 water buffalo and 65 cows drowned) and destruction of crops with 34 hectares of rice fields and 210 hectares of maize fields badly affected. Access to these communes to bring assistance has been hampered by landslides and the destruction of sections of the road. In another incident seven hundred metres of the national highway 4C in Dong Van district were washed away. Rainfall still continues and river levels are rising fast. The forecast is for continued rainfall for the next 48 hours. A 15 year old girl has been reported missing in the neighbouring Cao Bang province following a flash flood.
Red Cross and Red Crescent action
The Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) sent a team to Yen Minh district led by the director of the Social Work and Disaster Management Department. They will distribute 20 household kits and have USD 3,000 for purchasing food in Ha Giang town in order to provide emergency relief to the affected people. Red Cross members and volunteers at local levels are working with other agencies to carry out search and rescue operations and repair roads. The local VNRC chapters have estimated emergency needs of affected people at 200 tonnes of rice and 600 household kits.
For further information specificall y related to this operation please contact:
In Vietnam: National Society (Nguyen Hung Ha, Disaster Preparedness Programme Officer ); email: vinh15856@fpt.vn, phone: +84 913 555 959, fax: + 844 9432179
In Vietnam: Delegation cont act (Dang Van Tao, Programme Officer , Vietnam Delegation, Hanoi City); phone: +84913 361 581 , fax: + 84 4 9422987
In Geneva: Asia Pacific Department (Charles Evans, Regional Officer); email: charles.evans@ifrc.org, ph one: 41.22.730.4320, fax: 41.22.733.0395
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for a full description of the national society profile, please access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org