Directive No. 07/1998/CT-TTg On the development of search and rescue plans from central to local levels

 DIRECTIVE
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SEARCH AND RESCUE PLANS FROM THE CENTRAL LEVEL TO LOCALITIES
QUY ĐỊNH ĐẾN CÁC ĐỊA PHƯƠNG

In recent times, although the Government has issued many regulations requiring sectors and localities to take measures to prevent and reduce losses of life and property when natural disasters and accidents occur, due to complacency, the implementation of these regulations and safety equipment remains lax, with no specific search and rescue plans. Therefore, when incidents occur, localities and sectors are very unprepared in organizing search and rescue operations. Specifically, Typhoon No. 5 at the beginning of November 1997 claimed hundreds of fishermen's lives and caused estimated losses of over 7 trillion VND, despite the best efforts of central and local search and rescue forces to minimize the impact of Typhoon No. 5.

To proactively reduce to the lowest extent possible losses of life and property of local residents when accidents (aviation, maritime), natural disasters, and environmental pollution occur, the Prime Minister issues the following directive:

1. The provincial people's committees and municipalities directly under the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as provinces) shall be responsible for directing and organizing search and rescue operations for people and means of transportation (ships, boats, etc.) within and outside the province affected by disasters on their territory.

Provinces shall base their plans on the specific conditions of their locality, develop search and rescue plans, and submit them to the National Search and Rescue Committee for approval (documents sent to the National Search and Rescue Committee Office at 1 Hoang Dieu Street, Hanoi).

Content of the plan:

+ Possible scenarios (accidents, natural disasters) that may occur within the province.

+ Plans and measures for mobilizing provincial forces, means, and materials to participate in search and rescue operations.

+ Budget reserves for implementing the local search and rescue plan.

The local search and rescue plan should be integrated with the local flood and storm prevention plan.

When incidents occur within the province (waterway accidents, aviation accidents, natural disasters, etc.), provinces shall organize their forces and means based on approved search and rescue plans to carry out search and rescue tasks and mitigate consequences.

In cases where incidents exceed the capacity of the locality, the province must promptly report to the National Search and Rescue Committee and coordinate with central search and rescue forces to implement search and rescue activities and mitigate risks caused by accidents and natural disasters.

2. Professional search and rescue agencies (Aviation, Maritime, Fisheries, Oil and Gas) shall develop plans and closely coordinate with relevant provinces to proactively implement search and rescue plans according to their respective fields.

3. The National Search and Rescue Committee Office shall develop plans for overall coordination and cooperation between central and local search and rescue forces according to anticipated scenarios.

The National Search and Rescue Committee shall direct professional search and rescue agencies (Aviation, Maritime, Fisheries, Oil and Gas), the National Search and Rescue Committee Office, related ministries and sectors, and provincial people's committees and municipalities directly under the Central Government to urgently organize and implement this Directive within their respective responsibilities and report the results to the National Search and Rescue Committee (through the National Search and Rescue Committee Office at 1A Hoang Dieu Street, Hanoi).