Hanoi anniversary: no hi-tech interventions to keep rain at bay

The Hanoitimes - Hanoi will not employ foreign cloud-seeding technologies to keep it from raining during the 1,000th anniversary celebrations to be held this October, the government’s website reported Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, who is at helm of organizing the ten-day (October 1-10) anniversary celebrations, announced the decision after Hanoi authorities proposed that the costly technologies proposed by some experts are not deployed.

It would cost billions of dollars to deploy the technology that can help stop rains for three days, the government said.

Instead, the government ordered the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to strictly observe and keep track of weather happenings and send advance reports to the capital. Reports have to be submitted during the events as well, the ministry was told.

In their proposal to the government, Hanoi’s authorities suggested moving celebration outdoor activities to the Vietnam National Convention Center in case of heavy rain.

Previously the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Protection had forecast that the city is likely to face flooding between August and October o­n the same scale as the o­ne that killed 17 people in 2008.