Directive No. 04/2001/CT-TTg on flood, storm prevention and disaster mitigation work in 2001

DIRECTIVE

OF THE PRIME MINISTER NO. 04/2001/CT-TTg
DATE March 14, 2001 ON WORKS TO PREVENT AND CONTROL FLOODS AND STORMS, ALLEVIATE DISASTERS IN 2001
In recent years, natural disasters have occurred consecutively in our country, causing serious losses to people and property due to strong floods and storms. The weather and climate conditions are undergoing unusual changes and complex developments that are difficult to predict.

To proactively prevent, control, and respond to all unfavorable situations when earthquakes, floods, and storms occur, thereby minimizing losses caused by natural disasters, the Prime Minister instructs ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and

provincial people's committees under the central government to implement the following tasks well: of 1. Organize the summary, evaluation, and drawing of lessons from flood and storm prevention and control work in 2000, clearly identifying achievements and shortcomings to build detailed and specific plans and schemes for flood and storm prevention and control, disaster mitigation in 2001, ensuring consistency and synchronization from province down to

district and commune levels, especially in key and vulnerable areas; develop plans for close cooperation among ministries, sectors, and localities to promptly and effectively respond to the most unfavorable situations when natural disasters occur. 2. Strengthen the organization of flood and storm prevention and control command boards at all levels and sectors; organize training and drills for flood and storm prevention and control schemes and disaster response; for localities frequently affected by floods and storms, the chairpersons of people's councils at all levels shall directly serve as the heads of these boards..

3. Consolidate communication networks and warning systems to ensure smooth information flow in all situations; strictly implement duty shifts during the flood and storm season.

4. Provincial People's Committees have the responsibility:

- Provinces in the Red River Delta, North Central Coast, and North Mountainous Region must urgently complete dike repair plans before the rainy season; develop plans, prepare forces, equipment, and materials to be ready to deal with large and extremely large floods. Develop plans and measures for evacuating and protecting residents in riverbank and low-lying areas. Provinces with flood diversion and delayed flood areas should proactively establish evacuation plans to minimize losses when implementing flood diversion and delayed flood measures. - Coastal provinces in the Central Coast should develop plans to deal with the most unfavorable situations when floods, storms, and high tides occur simultaneously; take proactive measures to reduce damage and create adaptive living conditions in areas where natural disasters often occur.

- Provinces in the Mekong Delta should summarize experiences in dealing with the 2000 flood to develop plans and measures for handling large floods; plan production activities, protect infrastructure, and ensure normal operations in urban and densely populated areas. For deep-flooded areas, local authorities must develop evacuation plans, organize inspections to ensure each household has one boat as a flood-avoidance tool and fishing gear for subsistence when flooded for several days.

- Provinces with water reservoirs must regularly inspect and promptly repair any damages before the flood and storm season; develop plans to ensure safety for projects and residents in downstream areas.

- Provinces in mountainous and midland areas prone to flash floods and earthquakes, the provincial people's committees must direct relevant departments to properly carry out forecasting and warning work in dangerous areas to develop proactive evacuation plans for people and assets to safe locations.

- Localities need to ensure reserves of essential goods, particularly food, fuel, and medicine, from households to village, commune, and district levels; organize training and drills for forces directly involved in flood and storm prevention and rescue operations when natural disasters occur; proactively mobilize all resources within their jurisdiction according to the principle of "4 at the spot" to respond and mitigate consequences. In areas frequently flooded, proactively implement construction of houses suitable for flood avoidance. 5. Ministries and central agencies have the responsibility:

- The Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control must develop plans to deal with emergency situations involving floods, storms, and disasters in each region; advise the Government and the Prime Minister on timely and effective management and handling of natural disasters; inspect and urge ministries, sectors, and localities to implement flood and storm prevention and control work in 2001. - The National Search and Rescue Committee must prepare forces and equipment; develop plans to coordinate with related ministries, sectors, and localities to promptly implement search and rescue operations when natural disasters occur.

- The General Department of Hydrology and Meteorology must enhance its capacity to improve forecast quality, especially early warnings of complex scenarios to support guidance work; provide timely data on runoff, rainfall, floods, storms, earthquakes, and sea level rise to the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control and relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to promptly respond to all developments of natural disasters.

- The Ministry of Defense must develop plans and deploy forces and equipment to participate in dike and dam protection; rescue and handle emergency situations involving floods, storms, and earthquakes.

- The Ministry of Public Security must ensure social security when natural disasters occur, cooperate with military forces, sectors, and localities in rescue operations.

- The General Post Office Corporation must ensure uninterrupted communication in all situations from the central to local levels, ministries, and sectors, especially in flood diversion and delayed flood areas, regions frequently affected by floods, storms, and earthquakes, and areas deeply and persistently flooded. - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must direct localities to complete dike repair, reservoir, and irrigation project plans before the flood and storm season; develop plans to ensure the safety of reservoirs managed by the Ministry; and closely coordinate with localities to effectively protect production..

- The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting shall enhance its capacity to improve the quality of forecasts, particularly early warnings on the emergence and development of complex situations, to serve guidance work; promptly provide flow data, rainfall, floods, typhoons, earthquakes, and sea level rise information to the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, relevant ministries, and sectors; localities to timely respond to all developments of natural disasters.

- The Ministry of National Defence shall develop plans, deploy forces and equipment to be ready to participate in dike and dam protection work; rescue and handle emergency situations related to floods, typhoons, and earthquakes.

- The Ministry of Public Security shall ensure security and social order when natural disasters occur, coordinate with military forces, other sectors, and localities in search and rescue operations.

- The General Post Office Corporation shall ensure smooth communication in all scenarios from central to local levels at all tiers, ministries, and sectors, especially for flood-prone areas, delayed flood areas, areas frequently affected by floods, typhoons, and earthquakes, areas with deep and prolonged flooding.

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall direct localities to complete dike and reservoir repair plans, water conservancy works before the flood and typhoon season, have plans to ensure the safety of reservoirs under its management; at the same time closely cooperate with localities in effectively protecting production. storm; have a plan to ensure the safety of reservoirs and dams managed by the Ministry; at the same time closely coordinate with localities in protecting production effectively. quả.

- The Ministry of Fisheries shall proactively coordinate with People's Committees of coastal provinces and cities and relevant ministries and sectors to strengthen inspection work and organize the implementation of measures to ensure safety for persons and fishing vessels when operating on rivers and at sea; fishing vessels must have life-saving equipment and radio communication systems; provinces must prepare safe anchorage areas for vessels to avoid storms.

- The Ministry of Transport shall prepare plans to ensure readiness of rescue forces, materials, and means to respond and replace when bridges and roads suffer damage to guarantee smooth traffic flow along the main North-South route and mountainous routes, Central Highlands routes, and international transit routes; prepare forces, materials, and means to participate in handling situations in case of earthquakes, major incidents involving dykes and dams.

- The Ministry of Industry and Vietnam Power Corporation shall develop appropriate plans to regulate the Hoa Binh Reservoir, Thac Ba Reservoir, and other hydropower reservoirs to be ready to participate in flood control; regularly inspect and evaluate the quality of and promptly repair any damages to key facilities; take measures to ensure absolute safety for reservoirs under their management; direct work to ensure safety in mining excavation areas.

- - The Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with People's Committees of centrally governed cities and provinces before the flood and storm season to prepare essential goods for supply to remote and deep inland areas, and areas frequently submerged for long periods; together with local authorities at all levels, implement effective in-place reserves from July to November, with each household, village, commune, and district having sufficient food and supplies stockpiled to last for a minimum of two weeks. and necessary daily necessities. -

- The Ministry of Culture and Information, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam Radio; central and local information agencies and press shall strengthen the dissemination and timely and accurate reporting of weather forecasts, flood warnings, storm warnings, earthquake warnings, rising sea levels, policies, orders, directives regarding disaster prevention, mitigation, and aftermath recovery efforts. Coordinate with specialized agencies to publicize and disseminate basic knowledge about disaster prevention, mitigation, and loss reduction among the people.

- Other central ministries and sectors besides their responsibilities in effectively carrying out flood and storm prevention and protection of sectoral facilities must also prepare rescue forces, means, and materials to participate in flood and storm prevention, mitigation, and aftermath recovery according to the mobilization by the Prime Minister and the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Mitigation.

The Prime Minister requests that ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, and chairpersons of provincial and centrally governed city People's Committees strictly implement this Directive.