Timely information, proactive disaster prevention and control

The water measuring column of Na Men dam, Van Xuan commune (Thuong Xuan) provides information for local people to monitor water levels, ensuring safety when traveling through the dam.

Every day, information on weather conditions is regularly updated by the Thanh Hoa Hydrometeorological Station and sent to the Provincial Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention, Search and Rescue and Civil Defense, and localities to promptly deploy preventive measures. Typically, in April 2024, in the mountainous districts of the province, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and heavy rains occurred continuously over a large area, causing damage and roof loss to many houses. Thanks to timely information on the weather situation, localities quickly warned people to stay away from dangerous areas and organized the relocation of assets to safe places. Based on warning information from authorities, localities have implemented natural disaster prevention and control work according to the "4 on-site" motto; arranging forces on duty 24/24 hours in case of emergency. Along with that, localities regularly broadcast on the loudspeaker system about the level of natural disaster risks to people.

According to the forecast of Thanh Hoa Hydrometeorological Station, from May to July 2025, there will be about 2-3 storms or tropical depressions operating in the East Sea, with some storms affecting Thanh Hoa area; there is a possibility of 3-5 tornadoes, lightning, hail, 6-9 heat waves, including 2-3 severe heat waves, 2-3 heavy rains. From August to October 2025, there will be 6-8 storms or tropical depressions operating in the East Sea, with Thanh Hoa area likely to be affected by 1-2 storms or tropical depressions.

In order to enhance response capacity, the province has annually invested in upgrading the equipment system for forecasting and warning of natural disasters. Up to now, the province has installed monitoring equipment at 6 dams and reservoirs; 15 automatic rain gauge stations at reservoirs; 4 operational monitoring systems, information equipment, and safety warnings for dams and downstream areas. Develop a calculation tool to provide necessary data to support decision-making in operating inter-reservoirs in the Ma River basin, meeting the requirements of natural disaster prevention, control and search and rescue. Update data and information on the operation of irrigation works on the Irrigation System Management Information System of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment . Through this equipment, hydrological stations provide early warning to localities, especially during prolonged periods of rain, helping localities proactively develop prevention and control plans according to the "4 on-site" motto.

In addition, the Provincial People's Committee is coordinating with the Department of Irrigation (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) to implement the Project to build an integrated irrigation information management system in the Ma River basin. In particular, it mainly installs equipment to monitor rain, water level, salinity, surveillance cameras and builds software to integrate and improve water management capacity and natural disaster prevention in the province...

The information and warning system for natural disaster prevention in the province is being gradually invested in and installed in a modern way, improving the accuracy and regularity of forecasting work. Thereby, providing monthly and phased forecasts; flash flood and landslide warning information is specified for each commune. In addition, forecasts during holidays, Tet, major events of the country and the province are promptly released on Thanh Hoa Newspaper, Radio - Television and social networks.

Director of Thanh Hoa Hydrometeorological Station Nguyen Van Minh said: “In recent times, the system of monitoring stations, flash floods and landslide warnings invested in and installed in localities in the province, especially in mountainous areas, has been effective in information and warning work for natural disaster prevention and control. Currently, the warning system mostly uses automatic technology to collect real-time rainfall data, providing timely information to forecasting agencies and widely informing local people to proactively prevent and control natural disasters.”

It can be seen that timely weather forecasting and warning work has helped functional forces to be ready to respond and people to be proactive when natural disasters occur, contributing to protecting the lives and property of the State and the People.

Article and photos: Le Hoi

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/thong-tin-kip-thoi-chu-dong-phong-chong-thien-tai-253011.htm