At the Vietnam National Forum on Reducing the Risk of Disasters and Adapting to Climate Change in Hanoi on October 7, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai said that the State and people work together to prevent and combat natural disasters.
The work involves the effective use of State funds and mobilizing every resource from the community, local and foreign individuals to organizations.
Vietnam has co-signed and implemented the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Treaty on Climate Change, the Hyodo Framework for Action, and the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response.
Speaking at the opening of the forum, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlstrom, commended Vietnam for its increasing awareness of investment in weather-related issues.
Australian Ambassador Allaster Cox cited studies saying that for every US$1 invested in reducing the risk of disasters around US$7 is saved, due to reduced recovery costs.
The diplomat appreciated Vietnam ’s efforts to deploy the Community-Based Disaster Risk Management projects in over 6,000 communes by 2020 and stated that his government had pledged to work with the country to achieve this.
Upon hearing of the tragic loss of life, as well as the damage to property and the region’s infrastructure, caused by Typhoon Ketsana in Vietnam , Australia announced a grant of US$1 million to support the Vietnam Red Cross and NGOs operating on the ground to provide essential services needed by those affected.
Over the past five years, natural disasters have claimed the lives of nearly 400 people and resulted in economic losses equivalent to 1-1.5 percent of the nation’s annual GDP.
In the first nine months of this year, the dead toll and people reported missing from disasters reached 292, including 174 in Typhoon Ketsana. The economic losses during this period are estimated at VND24 trillion, more than half caused by the typhoon.