Party leader directs flood relief efforts in devastated northern province
Typhoon Matmo, which occurred in early October, triggered historic flooding and widespread devastation in the northern province of Thai Nguyen within a week.
THE HANOI TIMES — Party General Secretary To Lam on October 16 visited the northern province of Thai Nguyen, one of the four localities most hit by Typhoon Matmo, to direct the flood relief efforts and present gifts to people affected by the disaster.
The top leader inspected the Ben Tuong Bridge area, where armed forces are working tirelessly to reinforce embankments and prevent landslides and flooding.
Party General Secretary To Lam listens to a leader of the northern province of Thai Nguyen on flood and storm recovery work. Photos: VNA
Lam requested competent agencies to promptly restore the transportation network, irrigation and water supply systems to serve agricultural production and businesses activities,
Presenting gifts to affected households and armed forces participating in relief operations, the general secretary extended his heartfelt sympathy to the hardships facing local people, encouraged them to stay resilient and expressed hope that the affected areas would soon recover and resume normal life and production activities.
The Party leader called for the Vietnamese tradition of solidarity and compassion to help people in natural disaster-hit areas stabilize their lives as soon as possible.
According to the Thai Nguyen Provincial People’s Committee, Typhoon Matmo and the following floods left seven people dead and three others injured, causing property losses of VND12.2 trillion (US$470 million).
The disaster damaged around 200,000 houses, submerged 13,600 hectares of crops and aquaculture farms and washed away over one million livestock and poultry. Some 3,100 transport sites, along with six hospitals and a medical center, 25 local health stations and 180 schools were affected.
Right after the floodwaters receded, the provincial authorities mobilized relief efforts to support affected families. The units under the Ministry of National Defense and the provincial Department of Public Security tasked thousands of officers and soldiers along with hundreds of rescue vehicles for search operations, delivering food and supplies to help residents.
The Party chief and his entourage present a gift worth VND5 billion ($189,800) to those affected by storms and floods and armed forces participating in relief operations.
The Vietnam Fatherland Front and social organizations in Thai Nguyen also mobilized thousands of members and young volunteers to clean up the environment and support the community.
A report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said that over the past two and a half months, Vietnam had endured five storms making landfall. The most recent two, Bualoi and Matmo, triggered historic flooding and widespread devastation.
In late September, Typhoon Bualoi devastated northern and central Vietnam, killing at least 51 people and causing an estimated VND16 trillion ($606 million) in damages. Meanwhile, widespread flooding triggered by torrential rains in the wake of Typhoon Matmo in early October has left 18 people dead or missing, inundated hundreds of thousands of homes and caused severe infrastructure damage in four northern provinces of Thai Nguyen, Cao Bang, Lang Son and Bac Ninh.
Since the beginning of this year, natural disasters have claimed 238 lives and injured some 400 and caused an estimated $1.4 billion in economic losses. The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has warned that up to three more storms may hit Vietnam by late 2025.
