Directive No. 09/NN-PCLB-CT of 1997 by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on flood prevention, avoidance, and control to minimize damage caused by natural disasters. The Directive requires mountainous provinces and areas at risk of flash floods to implement measures such as summarizing experiences, strengthening flood and storm prevention mechanisms, reviewing residential area planning, stockpiling food and essential supplies, and training community knowledge on prevention.
Scope of application
People's Committees of mountainous provinces and provinces with mountainous districts and communes; Provincial Flood Control and Storm Prevention Command Boards; grassroots flood control forces; people living in areas at risk of flash floods.
Key points
- People's Committees of provinces → summarize flash flood experiences, form proactive prevention plans
- Strengthen permanent flood and storm prevention mechanisms in key areas and enhance inspection and forecasting equipment
- Establish communication systems down to grassroots levels, organize training for flood control forces, and widely publicize prevention knowledge through mass media
- Review residential area planning in areas previously affected by flash floods to relocate residents from dangerous zones
- Stockpile food, essential supplies, medical stocks, and prepare transportation means in areas frequently hit by flash floods
🌐 Social impact of this document
- Positive impact: Minimize casualties and property losses due to flash floods; enhance community awareness about disaster prevention.
- Negative impact: Costs for reviewing residential area planning, stockpiling food and essential supplies may increase; training and publicity schedules need to be coordinated with daily production activities.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What should mountainous provinces do to prevent flash floods?
Mountainous provinces should summarize flash flood experiences, form proactive prevention plans (Article 1), strengthen permanent flood and storm prevention mechanisms in key areas, and enhance inspection and forecasting equipment (Article 2).
Are there requirements for reviewing residential area planning in areas previously affected by flash floods?
Provinces must review residential area planning in areas previously affected by flash floods to relocate residents from dangerous zones, especially near the downstream of dams and water reservoirs (Article 4).
What training should flood control forces receive?
Flood control forces should be organized for training at grassroots levels and widely publicize knowledge on preventing flash floods through mass media (Article 3).
What requirements are there for stockpiling food and essential supplies when there is a risk of flash floods?
Provinces should stockpile food, essential supplies, medical stocks, and prepare transportation means in areas frequently hit by flash floods (Article 5).
How should rescue operations be carried out when flash floods occur?
When flash floods occur, timely rescue operations must be conducted to evacuate people from dangerous zones, apply all rescue measures, ensure that people do not suffer from hunger, lack housing, or medical supplies (Article 8).
Full text
DIRECTIVE
ISSUED BY THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
VMeasures for flood prevention, avoidance, and control in 1997
Natural disasters in 1996 caused significant losses in terms of human lives and property. Along with major floods occurring on most riverbanks nationwide, numerous flash floods and mud-rock flows took place in northern mountainous provinces, central provinces, and the Central Highlands. Notably, there were flash floods in Muong Lay (Lai Chau), Ha Giang, Phu Loc, and A Luoi (part of Thua Thien-Hue), as well as in Dai Loc and Que Son districts (Quang Nam-Da Nang). Additionally, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Gia Lai, and Kon Tum provinces also experienced flash floods to varying degrees. In some cases, communities were isolated for several days due to flash floods, such as in Muong Lay, A Luoi, and Dai Loc...
Our country lies within the tropical monsoon climate zone, where marine and continental climates intersect, leading to frequent heavy rainfall lasting for extended periods. For mountainous regions, small watersheds, slopes exceeding 30 degrees, fractured rocks prone to landslides, and vegetation coverage below 10%, heavy rains easily trigger flash floods carrying large amounts of soil and rocks, causing extensive damage to lives, properties, residential clusters, economic facilities, farmlands, crops, and fruit trees, disrupting transportation and communication networks, which we currently lack the capability to proactively address.
To proactively prevent, avoid, and mitigate damages caused by natural disasters generally and flash floods specifically, ensuring the safety of people's lives and assets, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development requests provincial People's Committees, Flood Control and Storm Prevention Command Boards in mountainous provinces and provinces with mountainous districts to focus on directing the following key tasks:
1. Summarize recent flash floods in the locality to identify patterns of occurrence, formation, and experience in prevention, thereby supplementing proactive and practical measures for flash flood prevention, avoidance, and control.
2. Strengthen and improve the standing machinery for flood control and storm prevention in areas frequently affected by flash floods, enhancing monitoring and forecasting equipment to ensure sufficient capacity to advise provinces and districts on detecting, warning, and directing evacuation when there is a risk of flash floods.
3. Consolidate communication systems, transmitting information down to grassroots levels, remote areas, including border guard units and forest ranger stations in areas often impacted by flash floods. Organize training for local flood control forces and widely disseminate knowledge about flash flood prevention through mass media.
4. Review planning for residential areas previously affected by flash floods to relocate residents from dangerous zones, especially near the downstream of dams and water reservoirs, constructing multiple tiered reservoirs within the same watershed, and particularly in areas with active geological conditions prone to frequent landslides, as well as residential areas adjacent to rivers and streams that are susceptible to sudden floods.
5. Stockpile food supplies, essential goods, medical stockpiles, and prepare transportation means (including manpower) in areas frequently blocked by flash floods.
6. Select and decide on crop rotation schedules to avoid times when flash floods typically occur, and arrange planting types and densities to ensure harvest while preventing soil erosion.
7. Organize rescue forces and equipment to promptly assist in saving people, property, and restoring transportation and communication networks.
When flash floods occur, immediately rescue people from hazardous areas, applying all rescue measures to ensure that residents do not suffer from hunger, homelessness, or lack of emergency medical care.
Forecasting and warning about flash floods is a complex and challenging issue. To effectively prevent and mitigate flash floods, it is required that provincial People's Committees in mountainous regions and provinces with mountainous areas thoroughly understand the above contents, urgently develop appropriate plans and measures based on their own capabilities and conditions to minimize losses caused by flash floods.
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