Việt Nam, Japan share experiences and solutions to reduce natural disaster risks

Overcoming consequences of Typhoon Yagi in Yên Lạc Commune, Nguyên Bình District, the northern mountainous province of Cao Bằng. — VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Đạt

Experts discussed these plans during discussions during the '12th Việt Nam – Japan Disaster Management Cooperation Dialogue' held on Thursday in Hà Nội.

The workshop, which discussed new approaches to flood reduction using risk information, was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

It was attended by representatives of local departments of agriculture and rural development from the northern and central regions.

Speaking at the workshop, Director of the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Phạm Đức Luận said that the event was an opportunity for Vietnamese and Japanese experts to exchange information and experiences and devise solutions to reduce risks and mitigate damage from natural disasters, especially floods and landslides.

Assessing the overall situation of flooding and flood prevention and control, Deputy Head of the Natural Disaster Response and Overcoming Division under the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Nguyễn Xuân Tùng said that Việt Nam was a country vulnerable to many types of natural disasters, especially floods, across all three regions.

The annual rainy and flood season is commonly from June 15 to October 31 in the north, from July 1 to November 30 from Thanh Hoá to Hà Tĩnh Province, from September 1 to December 15 from Quảng Bình to Ninh Thuận Province, and from June 15 to November 30 in the Central Highlands and the south.

Heavy rains in recent years have caused serious flooding and significant harm to lives, property and the economy.

Tùng believes that it was necessary to strengthen community-based disaster risk management.

Along with that, efforts should be focused on building and perfecting disaster prevention and control plans, enhancing resilience to climate change, applying science and technology and international cooperation.

For different regions, based on regional characteristics, specific solutions for flood prevention and control should be implemented.

Referring to the experience of flood control from using disaster risk information in Japan, Yusuke Mizushima, from the International Affairs Division under the Water and Disaster Management Department, said: "We provide information on disaster risks through the ministry's disaster risk map information page. This map will show the frequency of floods and flood levels.

“Along with that, we use disaster risk information to assess flood risks and manage land use. At the same time, we guide people to move to areas with lower risks, require the presentation of disaster risk maps for real estate transactions and provide location-specific real estate information, and develop evacuation plans."

He said that the Japanese Government was initiating the 'Calling on relatives to evacuate' initiative to encourage people to contact family members far away so that they can evacuate in time and respond to risk warnings in that area.

Providing more information on planning and implementing disaster risk reduction solutions based on flood or landslide risk assessment results, Taichi Minamitani, from the Global Environment Division under the Japan International Cooperation Agency, said that Việt Nam and Japan had been coordinating to implement recent flood management projects. They include a 'Technical cooperation project for development planning for post-flood recovery and master plan for disaster prevention in central Việt Nam' and 'Technical cooperation project on capacity building for flash flood and landslide risk reduction in the northern mountainous region'.

To effectively carry out the projects, it is needed to organise flood risk assessment, develop an integrated flood management plan and response plan, and build an early warning system, he said.

Regarding flood control solutions for the Red River and Mã River systems, Tùng suggested regulating reservoirs to reduce floods, using the flood prevention capacity of the reservoirs to regulate and reduce floods for downstream areas, and improving the quality of the dike body and dike foundation to ensure flood protection in case high floods last for many days.

At the same time, he proposed planting forests, dredging riverbeds in locations with local sedimentation, and clearing the mouths of the Hồng, Ninh Cơ, Văn Úc, Thái Bình and Đáy rivers.

Tùng also proposed developing emergency response plans in cases where floods exceed the design frequency.