PHÒNG CHỐNG BÃO ! – Prevent storm damage – Prévention des catastrophes naturelles

Hanoi – Tropical storm Francisco was still threatening Vietnam’s northern coast yesterday, although its strength had weakened, warned the National Meteorological Forecasting Center.

Francisco was at 20 degrees north latitude and 107 degrees east longitude in the Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf about 7 pm yesterday.It was about 80 km southeast of the Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa coasts and traveling west with wind gusts to 6 – 7 on the international Beaufort Scale.It was forecasted that the storm would be at 21 degrees north latitude, 104 degrees east longitude by 7pm today.

Forecasters say it will make landfall during the next 48 hours and weaken to a rain depression.The Border Guard Command reported that as of early yesterday its units in 28 provinces had mobilized more than 4,000 men in coordination with local administrations to warn an estimated 125,470 crew aboard 20,958 vessels to find safe harbors.In Hai Phong, administrators acted to ensure people and aquaculture production in safe.On Cat Hai Island, 564 households totaling 1,265 people were evacuated to safe areas.The Thai Binh provincial administration ordered the reinforcement of dikes and dams and told aquaculture farmers to move their cages to safety.Measures to deal with the storm’s landfall have been undertaken in Vinh Phuc province.People living in places of high risk to flash floods and landslides in the upland Lap Thach and Tam Dao districts have been moved to safety.The provincial Flood Prevention and Storm Control Committee and the armed forces have formed around – the clock teams for search and rescue. In highland Cao Bang province, more than 1,000 households have been shifted away from possible flash floods and landslides.The province has formed a 2,000 – strong team to help storm-hit areas.The storm caused no damage to the central province of Thanh Hoa’s 4,000 fishing boats as fishermen they had been warned in advance to seek safe harbors.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai held a working session yesterday at the National Hydrometeorology Center. He said he appreciated efforts made by the Center’s staff to minimize the risks posed by the storm. He affirmed that the State would help raise funding in the meteorology sector, particularly for urgently needed projects. He also called on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to invest in upgrading the center’s infrastructure.

(Viet Nam News 26/9/2007) 

A harbour built in Loc Tri Commune, Phu Loc District, Thua Thien Hue Province provides safe shelter for boats in case of a typhoon or flooding.

THUA THIEN-HUE — Nguyen Dang Chinh, a 43-year-old poor fisherman from Loc Tri Commune in Thua Thien Hue Province, never dreamt that one day he and his family would own their own solid and permanent house by the sea.Chinh, his wife and two children were left homeless when typhoon Xangsane destroyed their shanty house last September. Since Chinh only earns VND20–30,000 (approximately US$1.5 to 2) a day, the family could not afford to rebuild.But early in 2007 a project started to help victims of the typhoon like Chinh through housing rehabilitation and livelihood recovery activities. Chinh and 24 others in the area were given money to build new houses.“We never dreamed that the day would come when we would have a beautiful house like this,” said Chinh.All that’s needed now is for local authorities to connect Chinh’s and the others’ houses to the water and electricity mains.Chinh and others in his commune are amongst thousands of beneficiaries of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Department’s (ECHO) community-based disaster risk management project.The project in Chinh’s commune, funded by the European Commission and implemented in partnership with the Development Workshop of France, and other projects like it by ECHO’s partners, are helping families and whole communities reduce their vulnerability to natural disasters and develop the opportunities and the environment that contribute to poverty reduction in the central provinces of Viet Nam.Loc Tri Commune was seriously affected by typhoon Xangsane last year. The situation was complicated further by the fact that 17.2 per cent of Loc Tri Commune’s 1,648 households are classified as poor.Aside from rebuilding homes after the typhoon, ECHO helped repair a kindergarten in the commune.In nearby Dong Hai Commune, ECHO built a harbour, which provides shelter for the hundreds of households located on, or living off, the sea.Thanks to ECHO’s support 42 houses have been built for families living in temporary shelters, said Luu Dinh Hong from the Loc Tri Commune People’s Committee.

Other aid organisations have also played their part in helping the residents of Viet Nam’s central provinces overcome the affects of typhoon Xangsane.The Canadian Centre for International Studies and Co-operation (CECI) helped 46-year-old Le Thi Hai of Lien Chieu District, Da Nang City rebuild her house after it was destroyed by the typhoon.After the typhoon, poor homeless Hai had to collect firewood to make a living. But earlier this year the CECI project provided financial and technical support for Hai to rebuild her home.“When the radio warned that a storm was coming, our family used to go and hide in a safer location. Now we don’t have to go anywhere. We feel happy and secure here,” she said.CECI also built a salinity intrusion control sluice and a protective dike in the area, helping to protect 1,269ha of cultivable land.“Half of Hoa Quy’s population is living in the low, flood-prone areas, so agricultural production is hindered by natural disasters every year,” said Deputy Chairman of the Hoa Quy Ward People’s Committee, Huynh Van Duc.“After the construction was finished, fresh water was ensured for irrigation and rice productivity doubled compared with the previous year,” said Duc.“People also know a lot more about disaster damage prevention and cultivation techniques now,” added Duc.CECI, in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency, has also built a large safe house in Hoa Quy Ward, Da Nang City. The building provides shelter for up to 200 people in case of a typhoon or floods.

“The local people, who live in a poor, remote area, really wanted this building. We were also given training and provided with information about natural disaster prevention. The people are a lot less worried now about what will happen to their families, especially elders, children and the disabled, if flooding or a typhoon occur,” said Nguyen Van Cuong, head of the local resident’s group in Hoa Quy Ward. — VNS

Vietnam News 18 09 2007

 SHANGHAI, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – Typhoon Wipha stormed ashore in densely populated eastern China on Wednesday, sparking the evacuation of around two million people and disrupting the financial hub Shanghai.

The storm, billed by state media as potentially the worst to strike in a decade, was weakening after landfall but was still expected to rake the region with torrential rains and dangerously high winds, meteorological authorities said.

Wipha made landfall in Zhejiang province south of Shanghai overnight with winds up to 100 miles (160 kilometres) an hour after soaking the coast with advance rains that flooded streets and paralysed transportation.

It was expected to churn northward through Wednesday and Thursday, avoiding a direct hit of Shanghai, before veering back out over the sea near Shandong province, Xinhua news agency said, quoting state weather forecasters.

China’s national meteorological agency said the typhoon would bring heavy rain to the eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Shandong, Fujian, Jiangsu and the Shanghai region for the next two days.

Although the weather was fine in Shanghai early on Wednesday, the financial metropolis battened down the hatches, closing schools and advising it could halt trading on the city’s stock exchange if the weather worsened.

It ordered the evacuation of 291,000 people from low-lying areas and called ships and ferries back to port, according to the Shanghai Daily.

Similar measures have been taken along the eastern seaboard, media reports said, with at least 1.5 million people evacuated from their homes in Zhejiang province alone.

Xinhua news agency called the evacuations the largest in the province since the communist victory in 1949.

The centre of the storm was expected to pass about 100 kilometres to the west of Shanghai, but its presence has already been felt in the city of 17 million.

Xinhua said more than 80 streets there were flooded on Tuesday by the approaching storm’s rains, while nearly 50 flights were delayed and more than 20 cancelled at its two airports.

Just one death has been reported so far, that of a man in Shanghai who was electrocuted on Tuesday as he stepped into waters that had been electrically charged by a light box, the Shanghai Daily said.

However, further information on the toll wrought by the storm was scarce on Wednesday as it was causing power failures and communications disruptions.

Wipha has also caused the postponement of two matches in the Women’s Soccer World Cup, which Shanghai is hosting along with other cities in China.

Expectations of continued heavy rains were a concern as downpours preceding the typhoon have filled some rivers and reservoirs to high-level warning marks, Xinhua said.

Typhoons regularly hit China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea toward the end of August and in September.

Earlier this month Typhoon Fitow struck Japan, killing seven people, while on Sunday Typhoon Nari killed at least nine in South Korea.

 Sáng ngày 18 tháng 9 năm 2007, UBND thành phố Huế phối hợp Dự án phòng chống những thiệt hại về nhà do bão gây ra ở miền Trung Việt Nam đã tổ chức tập huấn công tác gia cố nhà chống bão cho các cán bộ chủ chốt thuộc các ban, ngành, phường xã trên địa bàn.

Dự án tập trung chủ yếu vào việc phát triển các tổ chức xã hội để hỗ trợ các gia đình giảm thiểu tổn thất do thiên nhiên gây ra với thái độ tích cực, lâu dài; thành lập các nhóm hộ gia đình trong thôn xóm, các nhóm này đóng vai trò chủ đạo trong việc tiến hành các hoạt động giảm thiểu thiên tai; tập trung phát triển năng lực của Ban phòng chống bão của xã để cung cấp những hỗ trợ cần thiết và tuyên truyền nhằm khuyến khích các hoạt động phòng ngừa giảm thiểu thiên tai; triển khai hệ thống tín dụng với khả năng thu hồi vốn cao nhằm hỗ trợ người nghèo gia cố nhà…. Tại buổi tập huấn, ban tổ chức đã trình bày những khái niệm về bão, áp thấp nhiệt đới, những phương pháp xây dựng kế hoạch hành động phòng chống những thiên tai, các nguyên tắc về sự cố, xây dựng nhà chống bão như: chọn địa hình, địa thế, vật liệu xây dựng…nhằm hạn chế thiệt hại do thiên tai gây ra.

The frequency and severity of the impact of recent floods and drought in different continents and the earthquake in Peru strongly remind the world that more needs to be done to ensure people’s safety and economic gains. The International Day for Disaster Reduction aims to raise general awareness of disaster risk reduction. As ISDR secretariat, together with ISDR partners, launched the 2006-2007 world campaign under the theme of Disaster Risk Reduction Begins at School in 2006, events planned by governments and ISDR partners have focused on safer schools and disaster risk reduction education.

The World Disaster Reduction Campaign 2006-2007 has been under way for a year. Various initiatives, such as making schools safer, developing educational materials, educating disaster risk reduction at schools, developing training manuals, have been carried out worldwide since the campaign was launched in 2006.Some of the initiatives made immediate impact; others laid the foundations for future successes. But all helped in particular school children fulfil a role envisioned for them: to serve as agents of disaster risk reduction and to become agents for sustainable development.Such a role played by the children could not be thought of a few years ago. Children were – and still are – among the most vulnerable groups in society to disasters; they were – and still generally are – perceived as “passive victims”. But, the successful stories in the current campaign have shown that children can play an active part in disaster risk reduction. The publication, entitled Towards a Culture of Prevention: Disaster Risk Reduction Begins at School – Good Practices and Lessons Learned, highlights many good practices where school children played a role, an important role for creating a culture of prevention and safety, together with teachers and communities.Importantly, such a change may also prompt bigger changes. This is simply because it conveys the following signal – a very strong signal: if children can do it, then every one can do it.If children can do it, then youths can do it. If children can do it, then adults can do it. If children can do it, then elderly people can do it.Teaching our children today is empowering the next generation to address disaster risk more effectively tomorrow.

Sálvano Briceño / Director, UN/ISDR secretariat

See http://www.unisdr.org/eng/public_aware/world_camp/2006-2007/iddr/2007-iddr.htm

Flyer :  english-iddr-2007-flyer.pdf

A removed Ho Chi Minh City district plans to relocate around 4,500 island residents whose homes are frequently damaged by storms.

Homes in the Thanh An island commune, about 10 kilometres off the coast of Can Gio district, are regularly damaged by gale-force winds, landslides and floods and are completely isolated from the mainland in heavy storms. Many parts of Can Gio are over 50 kilometres from downtown Ho Chi Minh City, separated from urban areas by large swamps and mangrove forests.Nearly 100 percent of Thanh An residents want to be relocated, according to a survey conducted by the district authority.

The municipal Department of Planning and Architecture is consulting various agencies to decide on the relocation site and aid policy for the residents.The city government has agreed on a VND600 billion (some US$37 million) draft plan that will be submitted to higher authorities next month.

Story from Thanh Nien News – Published: 15 September, 2007

Usually derided as teetering “on the tip of irrelevance,” this year’s Asia-Pacific leaders’ summit in Sydney hopes to rise above its reputation for glacial action and have a real impact on the course of climate change.  

“If the U.S. and China can agree on a set of principles on the way forward on climate change and get backing from the other APEC members, that will be very hard to ignore,” Malcolm Cook from policy think tank the Lowy Institute told Reuters.Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard, expected to call an election soon after the September 8-9 summit, has placed climate change on top of APEC’s agenda. APEC, Howard hopes, will counter voter perceptions he has done little to combat global warming.The United States and Australia have refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol capping greenhouse gas emissions, calling instead for “aspirational” targets bracketing developed and developing economies, such as China and India.With Russia’s President Vladimir Putin also in Sydney, officials hope the APEC declaration will build on June’s G8 summit, in which rich nations agreed to consider a 50 percent cut in emissions by 2050, and throw the momentum forward to a U.N. climate change meeting later this month.Howard has ruled out binding targets but is hopeful of APEC setting a “global goal” ahead of another September big emitters meeting in Washington, called by Bush to work out future emissions cuts. 

Security talks

China has come under pressure about its carbon dioxide emissions. The country is expected to overtake the United States as the world’s largest CO2 emitter by 2008.Chinese leaders have rejected emissions caps, but along with the United States, Japan, India, South Korea and Australia is a member of the AP6 group of countries that backs clean energy as a major way to curb emissions. The group also hopes cleaner energy technology will underpin a post-Kyoto pact.Kyoto’s first phase runs out in 2012 and governments want environment ministers to launch two-year talks at a U.N. gathering in Bali, Indonesia, in December to work out a replacement for the Protocol by 2009.But energy-hungry China views with suspicion planned security talks on the APEC sidelines in Sydney between Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Australia’s Howard.Abe wants the so-called trilateral security talks to become a permanent fixture at APEC, while China has aired suspicions of encirclement if the talks are widened to include India, as Abe has suggested.Chinese President Hu Jintao became the first major leader to arrive the APEC meetings, starting his six-day visit to Australia on Monday night in resource-rich Western Australia state.Analysts say China’s geopolitical strategy and military build-up is oriented toward securing energy resources to fuel Asia’s second-biggest economy.“Your state is richly endowed with resources,” Hu told a beaming Western Australia state premier Alan Carpenter. 

APEC lockdown

Central Sydney is in lockdown for APEC, with thousands of police and troops patrolling inside a five kilometer (3 miles) concrete-and-steel wall sealing off the Sydney Opera House and other central venues against expected violent protests.Inside the barrier, U.S. officials will try to push forward the stalled Doha round of world trade talks as negotiators reconvene from August holidays in Geneva for what many believe is the last chance to reach a deal.APEC will focus on intra-regional obstacles to trade, including such “behind the border” issues as competition policy, red tape, corporate governance and legal certainty, senior officials said.Hu will face questions from other APEC leaders about trade and investment policies after recent problems with Chinese-made goods.The 21 leaders are to talk over ways to secure the safety of food supplies, the latest focus of the group’s counter-terrorism initiatives following previous ones on shipping and airport security.APEC members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan (under the name Chinese Taipei), Thailand, United States and Vietnam. Story from Thanh Nien News Published: 04 September, 2007

HCM City – Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has called for intensive efforts by Mekong Delta provinces to complete the relocation of people living in flood-prone areas.
He urged them to quickly complete infrastructure like roads, water supply, schools in the flood-proof residential complexes and move people by this quarter, ahead of the annual floods in October. A national programme that was started in 2001 has achieved the building of 1,043 such complexes with 73,111 houses to accommodate 200,000 families living in flood-prone areas. In the provinces of Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Tien Giang, 39,330 household have already been moved to these complexes, representing 73% of the planned relocation. In An Giang Province, 28,300 households had been moved by late August, representing 87 per cent. Provincial officials said this had been possible because of their efforts to get the relocation tees bank loans to buy building materials and build their houses. Overall, the programme to build the complexes requires VND 3.2 trillion (USD 200 million). Hung has told provincial authorities to offer easy terms and incentives like solf bank loans, allowing the relocations to pay for their new houses in monthly installments, and speeding up infrastructure work so that the new complexes would be comfortable.
Emphasizing that the relocation programme had a significant part to play in social and economic development in the country’s rice basket, ha called on all local authorities to consider it a major task for them – VNS