Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Viet Nam

Vietnamese PM urges immediate solutions to cope with floods

HANOI, Nov 04, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Tuesday urged relevant ministries, agencies and the Hanoi People's Committee to take concrete measures to cope with floods, which are forecast to continue in the next few days, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Addressing an urgent meeting with the National Steering Board for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control in Hanoi on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dung underscored the need to control the water levels at reservoirs, protect important dyke sections, drain off the water and excavate people.

He said climate changes have led to changeable weather, causing heavy rains and large-scale floods, particularly in the capital city of Hanoi, where 22 people were reported dead.

He said the serious aftermaths were partly due to incorrect weather forecast. He asked the authorized agencies and localities to draw lessons from this in order to minimize future losses in lives and properties.

It is forecast that Hanoi and some other localities will face heavy rains in the next two days, with the rainfalls expected to be measured at 100 to 300 millimeter.

Prime Minister Dung asked the relevant agencies to keep a close watch of the development of the floods and have timely solutions to cope with it.