Resolution No. 15/2000/NQ-CP on certain policies and measures to continue mitigating the aftermath of floods, stabilizing people's lives, and promptly addressing emerging issues to ensure rapid and sustainable socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta region.

 RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION NO. 15/2000/NQ-CP OF THE GOVERNMENT ON OCTOBER 6, 2000 REGARDING SOME POLICIES AND SOLUTIONS TO CONTINUE MITIGATING THE AFTERMATH OF FLOODS, EARLY STABILIZING THE LIVES OF CITIZENS, TIMELY HANDLING NEW ISSUES ARISING IN ORDER TO ENSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR RAPID AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MEKONG DELTA REGION
The floods this year in the Mekong Delta provinces appeared early, with extensive and deep inundation over a wide area, and prolonged high water levels, making it the most severe flood in the past 70 years, causing significant losses of life and property for citizens and the state in the flooded provinces, particularly in Dong Thap, Long An, and An Giang. Our Party and State have promptly issued policies and decisions, mobilizing the combined strength of central ministries, local authorities, and citizens in the flooded provinces and throughout the country to implement emergency measures to mitigate flood damage.
As of October 1, 2000, the floods had claimed more than 200 lives, mostly children, affecting the livelihoods of over 10 million people, with over 700,000 households submerged, including more than 35,000 households that had to be relocated, and another 25,000 households still needing relocation. Half a million people required urgent relief assistance, over 700,000 students were forced to suspend their studies, and many infrastructure projects suffered serious damage. The estimated losses caused by the floods amount to over 20 trillion VND and are still increasing.
The Government highly commends and recognizes the efforts of the Ministries, sectors, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, political-social organizations at the central level, Party organizations, local authorities, mass organizations, armed forces, and citizens in the flooded areas, compatriots across the country, and overseas Vietnamese who have demonstrated solidarity and timely, effective support for those affected by natural disasters. The Government of Vietnam highly appreciates and thanks the governments of other countries, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and benevolent individuals from various nations for their concern, sharing of losses, organizing fundraising, and providing support to the flood-affected population.

On October 2, 2000, the Government convened a meeting to discuss some policies and solutions to continue mitigating the aftermath of the floods, stabilizing the lives of citizens, handling new issues arising, and promoting rapid and sustainable economic-social development in the Mekong Delta region.

1. Urgent tasks that must be prioritized and directed

Local administrative levels must closely engage with the people, continue relocating households in severely flooded and dangerous landslide-prone areas to safe locations, minimize casualties among the people to the lowest possible extent, and ensure that relocated households have temporary housing.

Direct and organize rescue operations effectively. In addition to encouraging mutual assistance among the people, local authorities must promptly provide food supplies to the affected population, especially困难之处在于，给定的文本在第10行之后直接跳到了第11行，而没有提供明确的分隔符或标题来表示新段落的开始。为了保持翻译的准确性和一致性，我将按照原文的结构继续翻译，直到完成所有内容。

1. Urgent tasks that must be prioritized and directed

Local administrative levels must closely engage with the people, continue relocating households in severely flooded and dangerous landslide-prone areas to safe locations, minimize casualties among the people to the lowest possible extent, and ensure that relocated households have temporary housing.

Effectively direct relief work. Alongside encouraging mutual assistance among the people, local authorities must promptly provide food supplies to the affected population, especially those in difficult circumstances, policy beneficiaries, and absolutely prevent hunger. Quickly supply boats and fishing nets to households in deeply flooded areas without boats and facing living difficulties to enable these households to have means of livelihood.

Where conditions permit, continue protecting embankments and pumping out water to safeguard fruit gardens.

Ensure sufficient medical supplies and health personnel, proactively prevent and control diseases and maintain environmental hygiene, treat drinking water sources for the people.

Safeguard warehouses, materials, goods, and houses of both the people and the state. Organize the timely provision of essential items such as fuel, salt, building materials, etc., to stabilize the market.

In downstream areas, immediately prepare plans to counteract the incoming high floods and the possibility of continued deep flooding for several days.

People's Committees at all levels must effectively direct the distribution of relief funds and goods, ensuring they reach the people, are distributed fairly, and there is no loss.

Organize and direct the maintenance of public security and social safety.

Strictly implement the directives of Party and State leaders regarding flood aftermath mitigation.

2. Issues to be addressed immediately after the waters recede

Prepare well the conditions to restore housing, prevent and control diseases, process the environment, etc., to quickly stabilize normal life for the people. Promptly direct the assurance of necessary conditions for students to return to school as soon as possible, especially senior-level students.

Localities must direct and coordinate with relevant sectors to ensure sufficient seeds, agricultural materials, repair urgent irrigation works, level paddy fields, guarantee electricity, fuel, and oil for pumping water to sow all areas, and meet the planting season for the winter-spring rice crop of 2000-2001.

Ensure sufficient tree and animal seeds, feed, veterinary and plant protection materials to restore and develop fruit gardens, livestock breeding, and aquaculture.

In conjunction with state support, launch a movement among the people to contribute money, goods, and labor to quickly repair and restore essential infrastructure such as roads, bridges, irrigation works, schools, and health stations.

Promptly install additional transformer stations and power lines to supply electricity for production and daily life, especially for irrigation, processing of agricultural and aquatic products.

3. Some policies and measures

a. To address the current urgent situation and plan investment for future years, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will lead, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and related ministries and sectors, and provincial People's Committees, to review projects intended for investment at the end of 2000 and include them in the 2001 plan.

b. The Ministry of Construction will lead, together with related ministries and sectors and provincial People's Committees, to review and adjust planning, develop policies for investment in residential areas and housing for residents in flooded areas, and submit to the Government by the end of 2000.

c. The state will ensure sufficient materials for production, subsidize fuel costs for pumping and sowing rice, and assist poor households with the price difference for purchasing rice seed compared to commercial rice for the winter-spring crop.

d. Implement debt deferral, debt write-off, and continued new loans to allow residents in flooded areas to quickly recover and develop production and stabilize their lives.

Implement the exemption and reduction of agricultural land use tax and other taxes until the year 2001 for households and production and business establishments affected by floods.

d. For agricultural embankments and aquaculture embankments that have been planned, the State shall provide preferential credit loans for investment purposes.

e. Encourage farming households with conditions to retain rice for gradual sale. Create conditions for people to store rice in warehouses without storage fees. The Southern Foodstuff Corporation has the responsibility to purchase all commercial rice that needs to be sold due to floods. The Ministry of Trade must direct efforts to find markets and accelerate rice exports to consume the rice produced by farmers.

g. In the spirit of utilizing local resources, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance must allocate necessary funds to support localities in the fourth quarter of 2000 and include specific funding in the 2001 plan to address the aftermath of recent floods.

4. Long-term issues

Over many years, especially in the last five years, implementing Decision 99/TTg of the Prime Minister, the State and the people have invested significantly in money, materials, and labor in building infrastructure such as transportation works, water conservancy projects, residential lines and clusters, public welfare facilities, etc., which have created favorable conditions for economic and social development and enhanced flood prevention capabilities in provinces within the region.

Through this flood, the General Bureau of Meteorology and Hydrology must collect comprehensive data on flood occurrence time, peak flood levels, direction, and flow velocity throughout the flooded area so that relevant sectors and localities can have scientific bases to adjust and supplement planning and improve flood control solutions, ensuring that the Mekong Delta has sufficient conditions for rapid and sustainable economic and social development, improving people's living standards, and moving towards a more civilized society under annual flood conditions.

a. Infrastructure structure

Continue to consider additional solutions for faster flood drainage, contributing to reducing deep and prolonged flooding. Flood drainage works that comply with planning and have scientific foundations should promptly complete procedures for immediate construction starting from 2001.

Supplement planning for residential layout along lines and clusters, linked with the construction of social infrastructure serving people's lives and national defense security. For residential protection embankments that comply with planning and have proven effective through this flood period, continue to invest in upgrading and new construction for long-term stability. There must be solutions for housing construction, social infrastructure provision, and supply of construction materials suitable for flood-prone areas. Build embankments and raise ground levels where conditions permit to help residents live stably, minimizing relocation during floods.

Inspect and review the entire transportation system in flood-prone areas, including national highways, provincial roads, and rural traffic, to supplement and improve them, ensuring both flood drainage and appropriate height and structure to ensure safety during the flood season.

b. Production arrangement

Along with arranging industrial and service production suitable for the characteristics of the region, it is necessary to continue adjusting the agricultural production structure and rural economy.

For rice production, limit late summer-autumn rice planting and do not plant a third crop.

For fruit trees in flood-prone areas, select species suitable for waterlogged conditions. Species that cannot tolerate waterlogging but have high economic efficiency should be planted in highland areas or protected by embankments according to planning.

For animal husbandry and aquaculture, it is necessary to reconsider the arrangement of breeding activities, linked with new technologies that suffer less damage during floods.

For forestry, it is necessary to continue promoting tree planting among the people, especially around villages, canal banks, and roads to reduce wave impact, slow down flow velocity, enhance protective capacity, and minimize damage. Develop forest planting, particularly Acacia in acid soil and wetland areas, which benefits the environment, ensures income for the people, and suffers less damage from floods.

Party organizations and local authorities at all levels in the region must regard the task of addressing the aftermath of floods as their top priority currently, while organizing lessons learned regarding leadership and guidance in flood response over the past period. Contents related to addressing the aftermath of floods must be included in the 2001 and subsequent years' plans, discussed at all-level Party Congresses, and incorporated into Congress Resolutions.

Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies must, in accordance with their functions and responsibilities, work closely with localities to promptly implement the contents stipulated in this Resolution.