Actively do a good job of preventing and fighting natural disasters and overcoming the consequences of storms and floods.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs the first meeting of the National Civil Defense Steering Committee. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

Also attending were: General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Minister of National Defense, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee; Tran Hong Ha, Party Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister, Permanent Deputy Head of the Steering Committee; leaders of ministries, departments, branches, and central agencies who are members of the Steering Committee. The meeting was broadcast live to 34 provinces and centrally-run cities, 3,321 communes, wards, and special zones nationwide.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, first of all, on behalf of General Secretary To Lam and other Party and State leaders, with personal feelings, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of natural disasters, especially the families of the victims who died or went missing in the capsized ship Bay Xanh 58 in Ha Long, Quang Ninh and in storm No. 3 in recent days.

The Prime Minister also expressed his condolences for the huge loss and damage to property of the people in mountainous communes in Nghe An who are suffering from unprecedented floods caused by the storm.

Delegates attending the meeting. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

The Prime Minister said he has sent Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh to Nghe An to inspect and direct the work of overcoming the consequences of floods in vulnerable areas.

The Prime Minister emphasized that agencies and localities need to strengthen information work and promptly report to the Steering Committee so that the Steering Committee's leaders and the Government can have more in-depth, timely and accurate guidance and direction.

The press agencies need to actively participate, spend the necessary time to widely propagate the Party and State's concern for people's lives and safety, the efforts of the entire political system and the people in preventing and fighting natural disasters, and overcoming the consequences of storms and floods. Ministries, branches, localities and agencies should promote the good aspects, good experiences of many years, and overcome limitations and shortcomings.

Steering Committee members attending the meeting. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

The Prime Minister requested that forces and leaders find every way to immediately reach areas cut off by floods to grasp the situation, provide food for people, and ensure environmental sanitation.

The Prime Minister stated that this year, we must implement the Law on Civil Defense passed by the National Assembly and effective from July 2024; reorganize the political system at the local level at two levels, so there will be changes in organization and operation.

This meeting agreed on a number of tasks, including organizational work. Accordingly, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1585/QD-TTg to reorganize the National Civil Defense Steering Committee; the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control; the National Committee for Incident and Disaster Response and Search and Rescue into the National Civil Defense Steering Committee.

This is appropriate in the current situation. In the past, the Government assigned the former Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, to carry out the tasks of the Steering Committee on natural disaster prevention and control.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the meeting. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

On behalf of the Government, the Prime Minister commended and appreciated the role of the former Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the current Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

The Prime Minister stated that, according to the new regulations, civil defense includes measures to prevent and overcome the consequences of war; prevent and overcome the consequences of incidents, natural disasters, and epidemics. We will operate under a new model and new functions in accordance with the Law, first of all preventing and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters. As for the work of overcoming the consequences of war, we are still carrying out it every day.

Disaster prevention and control is a special defense content because our country has a long terrain, regularly facing many types of natural disasters such as storms, floods, flash floods, landslides, droughts, saltwater intrusion... "blocking storms in the morning, blocking fire in the afternoon".

View of the meeting. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

The Prime Minister pointed out that climate change has caused weather and natural disasters to become increasingly unusual, extreme, and unpredictable; recalling that last year, the third storm (Yagi) occurred, the largest in many years; unusual storms and whirlwinds occurred in Quang Ninh and Hanoi a few days ago; regarding this year's third storm (Wipha), although all levels, sectors, and localities have been very proactive in implementing natural disaster prevention and control, forecasting, warning, and propaganda so that people can proactively prevent and respond to storms and minimize damage, the storm still made landfall in Nghe An with heavy rain.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, Deputy Head of the National Civil Defense Steering Committee, speaks at the meeting. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

The Prime Minister asked delegates to evaluate the work of natural disaster prevention and control, the achievements and good points from the leadership, direction, and response work of ministries, branches, localities, and people; the limitations, shortcomings, difficulties, and problems, and what lessons can be drawn from the last 6 months of the year and the coming period.

How to appropriately assign and define the tasks of advising and directing natural disaster prevention and control. The Prime Minister also requested the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to closely coordinate in natural disaster prevention and control; assign tasks to members of the Steering Committee with the spirit of "6 clear": "clear people, clear work, clear responsibility, clear progress, clear results, clear authority", in order to review and correctly assess the situation.

The Prime Minister also proposed discussing and evaluating the work of natural disaster prevention and search and rescue when implementing the two-level local government model, what are the advantages, difficulties and obstacles, and sharing good experiences and lessons.

The meeting was broadcast live to provinces, centrally-run cities, communes, wards and special zones across the country. (Photo: TRAN HAI)

* According to the Steering Committee's report, in 2024 and the first months of 2025, the world and regional security and political situation will continue to have complicated developments; strategic competition, armed conflicts will take place fiercely, territorial sovereignty disputes, terrorist activities, and cyber attacks will cause instability in many countries and regions. Military conflicts between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas will impact the economy, politics, and society of countries around the world, including Vietnam.

There have been many large, unusual natural disasters in the world, with a wide range of influence, exceeding historical levels, causing serious damage to people and property, typically: earthquakes in Japan; landslides in Papua New Guinea, Sichuan (China); forest fires in Los Angeles (USA); earthquakes in Myanmar; heavy rains and floods in southern China...

In Vietnam, in 2024 and the first months of 2025, there were 10,225 accidents, incidents, and natural disasters nationwide, including 13 storms, 3 tropical depressions, 240 heavy rains, inundations, floods, flash floods, landslides, 278 thunderstorms, lightning, hail, 409 landslides and droughts, saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, 472 earthquakes, 4 cold spells, 19 strong winds at sea, 17 heat waves, many incidents and accidents on land and at sea causing particularly serious consequences for people and property; violations of environmental and resource laws occurred in many fields and areas causing environmental pollution...

Consequences: 1,389 dead; 398 missing; 2,861 injured; 1,361 vehicles sunk, burned, damaged; 2,239 factories and 3,314 hectares of forest burned; 319,437 houses collapsed, damaged, or had their roofs blown off; 443,591 hectares of rice and crops damaged and 326,490 hectares of crops; 17,707,305m3 of soil and rock eroded; 5,283,149 livestock and poultry died; 2,267m3 of oil spilled.

Regarding incident, disaster and catastrophe response, the Steering Committee said that it will maintain 24/7 civil defense duty at the Civil Defense Command at all levels, monitor and promptly grasp incident, disaster and search and rescue situations; at the same time analyze, assess and evaluate developments to propose response measures.

Ministries and branches advised the Government and the Prime Minister to issue 1 resolution, 1 directive, and 33 dispatches to direct response to and overcoming the consequences of natural disasters. The National Steering Committee for Civil Defense directed the issuance of 100 dispatches to direct response to, overcoming incidents, natural disasters, and search and rescue; the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment issued 188 dispatches and documents to direct response to natural disasters, reservoir operations, and ensuring downstream safety when reservoirs discharge floodwaters, especially during storm No. 3 (storm Yagi).

Regularly update information on forecasts, warnings, closely monitor and supervise the situation of accidents, incidents, natural disasters, catastrophes, epidemics and the environment; develop scenarios and provide full and timely advice to Government leaders to direct, direct, respond to and overcome the consequences of situations. Report and provide full and timely information to leaders of ministries, branches, leaders of local Command Committees and people and communities.

In 2024 and the first months of 2025, ministries, branches and localities mobilized 1,105,639 people/58,754 vehicles to respond to and handle 9,159 cases, rescuing 7,079 people and 735 vehicles. Of which, the army mobilized 763,640 people (69%) and 35,207 vehicles (60%), participated in search and rescue in 6,300 cases (69%), rescued 5,948 people (84%) and 643 vehicles (88%); extinguished fires in 1,873 factories and 3,292 hectares of forest; supported the evacuation of 110,447 households/421,594 people to safe places; Calling and informing 795,930 vehicles/4,850,620 people about information and developments of storms and tropical depressions so that they can promptly move, avoid, and anchor in safe places...

Ha Thanh Giang

Source: https://nhandan.vn/tich-cuc-lam-tot-cong-tac-phong-chong-thien-tai-khac-phuc-hau-qua-bao-lu-post896105.html