Food aid, hygiene top priority: leader

(07-11-2009)

PHU YEN — Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh yesterday urged the central coastal province of Phu Yen to make sure merchants would not raise prices for food and vital supplies in storm affected areas.

And he urged authorities not to let anyone go hungry, to urgently look for those missing and give any assistance necessary in burying the dead.

Typhoon Mirinae and the subsequent flood has claimed 116 lives in the central and Central Highland regions, including 73 in Phu Yen.

Manh, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai in a tour to Phu Yen, asked the province to waste no time in distributing relief goods and financial aid, but only to those who needed it.

He said the province should take steps to prevent outbreaks of disease and quickly repair schools to ensure children could continue their studies.

Besides, the province should start preparing for the winter-spring crop as well as trying to fulfil this year targets.

Manh then visited Triem Duc Village in Dong Xuan District’s Xuan Quang II Commune, which was seriously affected by the storm. Eighteen people were killed, five are missing and 41 houses swept away.

On behalf of Party and State leaders, he sent condolences to families who lost relatives and suffered property losses.

He said the Party and State would work together with local authorities to help residents stabilise their lives.

The Party leader also visited Song Cau Town and Tuy An District, which were hit hard, and Air Force Regiment No 910 which had rescued people and transported food and necessities to the storm-hit areas.

As flood levels ebb in most districts in central provinces, the number of deaths caused by Typhoon Mirinae nudges even higher.

According to the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, the death toll rose by about 15 yesterday, bringing the official total to 116.

Seven people are still classified as missing, while the number of those injured is reported at 125.

The storm has so far destroyed nearly 1,300 houses and damaged and inundated 83,000 others. About 800 classrooms, 100 public buildings, including health centres, have been destroyed or damaged by the storm.

Heavy rain and floods have also destroyed nearly 11,000ha of rice, more than 300 boats and ships and damaged about 1,000km of roads.

The Ministry of National Defence has assigned another 5,000 staff and soldiers to supplement the previous 4,000 to assist the victims to recover from the impact of the storm.

The ministry has also sent eight helicopters and more than 300 vehicles to transport food, water and medical supplies to needy people.

So far, about 21 tonnes of relief goods have been delivered to residents in central Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces.

The Defence Ministry also allocated VND1.125 billion (US$62,500) to support storm victims.

Phu Yen provincial authorities have distributed more than 12,000 boxes of instant noodles, 800 barrels of clean water, 15,000 litres of cooking oil and 4,000 tonnes of rice.

Hundreds of soldiers, healthcare staff and students have helped local people rebuild houses, repair damaged infrastructure, ensure environmental sanitation and stabilise lives and production.

According to the provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, the storm has claimed 73 deaths, seven people are still missing and 56 injured in Phu Yen Province.

Nguyen Ba Loc, head of the committee, said that apart from goods for famine relief, provincial authorities had been asked to consider providing financial assistance to families who had lost family members of had their houses destroyed.

Loc said the province’s property losses were estimated at VND2.4 trillion ($133 million).

In central Khanh Hoa Province, 12 deaths have been reported. One person is still missing and eight injured. Families who have lost family members in the flood or whose houses have been destroyed will receive VND3 million ($165) each.

Each injured or those whose house have been damaged by the storm will get VND1-2 million ($55-110) depending on levels of damage.

In the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, where the storm has caused 20 injured and an estimated property loss of VND85 billion ($4.7 million), authorities have organised classes for students in local offices to ensure their studies continue.

In Tu Mo Rong District in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, 21 long-term areas to resettle nearly 1,100 local families are being set up for those who lost their homes.

The development, which will cost VND650 billion ($36 million), will help thousands of people whose homes have been affected by landslides in the three latest storms get their normal lives back.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, 30 people were killed or are missing due to landslides since the arrival of Storm Ketsana in late September.

The Ministry of Education and Training has ordered its departments in the provinces of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Dak Lak to promptly release reports on school damage.

The ministry also asked localities to adjust teaching and studying plans to ensure studies were maintained.

Meanwhile, humanitarian relief aid and sympathy for storm-hit provinces keeps pouring in from domestic and international organisations and individuals.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sent a message of condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung about the huge loss of lives and properties caused by Mirinae.

He sent his profound condolences to families who had lost relatives in the storm and hoped the injured would soon recover.

Ha Noi authorities yesterday announced relief aid worth VND5 billion ($278,000) for storm victims.

HCM City authorities also decided to assist residents of four central provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan with VND2.9 billion ($161,000).

The Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and its member companies have sent VND4.4 billion ($244,000) to victims. The group has also decided to assist 12 provinces hit by September’s storm, Ketsana, with financial aid of VND100 million ($5,500) each.

And the Association of overseas Vietnamese in Ukraina has sent a cheque for $11,000 to people in storm-hit areas. — VNS