Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs online meeting to direct flood response

After inspecting the flood situation and response work in Tien Son and Van Ha communes, Viet Yen town, Bac Giang province, at noon on September 10, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh worked with Bac Giang province, held an online meeting with the Government Headquarters, Yen Bai province, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Hanoi on responding to and overcoming the consequences of serious floods, landslides, flash floods, and landslides.

Immediately resolve petitions of Bac Giang people

After listening to the report of the leaders of Bac Giang province on the flood situation and consequences caused by heavy rains and floods in the province, the Prime Minister conveyed the condolences of General Secretary and President To Lam and other leaders of the Party and State to the families of the victims, the difficulties and losses of the people in the areas affected by the storm and floods; at the same time, he commended the Party committees, authorities and people of Bac Giang province for proactively preventing, fighting and responding to storms and floods, minimizing damage.

Faced with the complicated flood situation, the Prime Minister requested Bac Giang province to grasp the situation, handle it flexibly and effectively according to regulations, especially at important and weak dike and dam routes; organize measures to drain floods, save rice and crops. At the same time, review and assess the damage to have policies to support people with great losses in the spirit of "no one goes hungry, cold, has no place to live, students must go to school soon", especially in Van village, Van Ha commune, Viet Yen town which is being isolated due to floods; mobilize forces, especially armed forces, together with people to respond to floods, evacuate, clean up, clean up the environment, and restore production.

The Prime Minister requested Bac Giang province to strictly implement the Prime Minister's instructions in the telegrams, instructions of the Government and the Prime Minister on prevention, control and response to storms and floods; proactively grasp the situation, promptly handle arising issues, and if beyond authority, promptly synthesize and request opinions from competent authorities for resolution.

At the same time, the province inspected the dike system, with the spirit of "being ready to respond to the worst possible situation", quickly stabilizing the situation. The Banking, Finance and Insurance sectors reviewed the damage of people, private enterprises and cooperatives to have policies to support the restoration of production and business; calling on people, enterprises, agencies, unions, social organizations and the entire political system to join hands, contribute, overcome the consequences, stabilize life and production.

The Prime Minister agreed with the people's proposal, assigning the two provinces to coordinate in building the Van Ha bridge across the Cau River connecting the two provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh, to be completed in 2025, creating favorable conditions for people on both banks to travel conveniently and safely; planning, allocating land funds, and providing support to bring people living on the river to shore...

Prepare for the worst

Immediately after working with Bac Giang province, the Prime Minister held an online meeting with leaders of Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, and Hanoi provinces and cities on flood response.

According to local reports, due to the circulation of storm No. 3, in recent days, the northern provinces and cities have had heavy and prolonged rain, causing many areas to be flooded; some localities have been completely isolated.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, from noon on September 10 to September 11, a flood occurred on other rivers in the Northern region. During this flood, the flood peak on small rivers in the northern mountainous provinces and rivers in the downstream areas of the Red River Delta - Thai Binh, coastal estuaries reached alert level 2, alert level 3, some rivers above alert level 3.

In many provinces, there is a high risk of flooding in low-lying areas along rivers; flash floods and landslides on steep slopes in mountainous areas; the risk of natural disasters due to floods is level 3. In particular, at some lakes such as Thac Ba Lake... currently nearing the design capacity, the risk of dam failure is high.

Local leaders said they have been evacuating people from flooded areas; mobilizing forces to repair and restore damaged infrastructure; cleaning up the environment; especially organizing the provision of food, foodstuffs, and necessities to serve the lives of people affected by floods; proposing that armed forces support forces, vehicles, especially helicopters to bring necessities to areas isolated by rain and floods.

Concluding the meeting, the Prime Minister directed ministries, branches and localities to proactively direct, organize and mobilize the entire political system to effectively implement the contents of the five telegrams that the Prime Minister directed, especially the direction of General Secretary and President To Lam at the Politburo meeting on September 9 on flood prevention, response and overcoming consequences.

The Prime Minister has directed the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security to mobilize forces and means to organize the provision of food, provisions, and necessities to serve the lives of people affected by floods, especially in isolated areas. At the same time, he requested localities to coordinate with functional forces to find ways to bring necessities to people, so that no one goes hungry, cold, or lacks shelter; the sick must be treated; students must soon go to school...

Regarding the critical situation of some dams such as Thac Ba Lake, the Prime Minister requested to prepare for the worst possible situation; proactively prepare to evacuate households that may be affected to safe places; the provincial People's Committee and relevant agencies must prepare plans and issue emergency declarations according to regulations when a bad situation occurs.

The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to grasp the situation, forecast natural disasters and floods; recommend response plans to people and all levels and sectors. Lao Cai, Yen Bai and Tuyen Quang provinces control the upstream areas, reduce the flow to dams, and reduce the risk of dam overload. The Deputy Prime Minister directly commands at the scene; ministries, sectors and localities coordinate to promptly handle the response and overcome the consequences of floods according to instructions; issues beyond their authority must be promptly reported to competent authorities for resolution.