VietNam Society: Tinh province

Showing posts with label Tinh province. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Flooded schools to reopen soon

Student Nguyen Thi Tinh in Kim Loc Primary School in Kim Loc Commune, Can Loc District, in central Ha Tinh Province, whose father died during flash floods, gets back to school. — VNA/VNS Photo Duy Khuong

HA NOI — The Ministry of Education and Training is mobilising all resources to help inundated schools in the north-central provinces re-open for students as soon as possible, said Minister Pham Vu Luan in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency.

"It's the first priority for the whole educational system for the time being," he said.

As soon as the floodwaters began to recede, the ministry asked its departments in the three affected provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh to begin working with local authorities and parents in cleaning up and repairing damage done to schools.

"We also asked local education departments to assess the losses in their provinces so that the ministry could file a report with the Government to request the necessary assistance," he added.

The immediate job for now was to supply enough textbooks to school children, he said.

"Then we will gradually repair or replace damaged facilities and equipment and support needy teachers and children," he noted.

The Education Publishing House has just printed an addition of 400,000 copies of textbooks which had already been transported to the affected provinces.

A ministry task force will arrive in the region this week to inspect the damage and investigate ways of dealing with the aftermath of the floods.

Although schooling was interrupted for two weeks, students in the region could still catch up on their courses given the two reserve weeks built into the academic year, said the minister.

"We will give instructions to schools to make necessary changes to the curricula," he added.

As for the loss of student report cards and relevant documents, the minister ensures that the problem would be solved in the best interest of the students.

The floods cost the education sector more than VND700 billion (US$35 million) and left six students dead, according to the minister. So far, the ministry has raised VND3 billion ($150,000), with several international organisations providing aid to children affected by the disaster.

In another development, the Japanese government yesterday donated hand-outs worth around $250,000 in emergency aid to flood victims, including blankets, small generators, water purifiers and plastic water containers. India yesterday announced a donation of VND2 billion ($102,000) to flood victims in affected areas.

India yesterday announced a donation of VND2 billion (US$102,000) to flood victims in affected areas.

The South Korean ambassador to Viet Nam donated $100,000 to flood victims via the Viet Nam Red Cross Society on behalf of his government on Monday.

Also on the same day, the Central German Red Cross Society gave 10,000 euro to its Vietnamese counterpart in primary aid to flood victims, while the Laotian province of Bolykhamsay donated $10,000 to Ha Tinh Province.

So far, the Viet Nam Red Cross Society has received aid worth around VND20 billion ($1 million) from more than 10 international organisations. — VNS

Monday, December 6, 2010

More donations for flood victims

More donations from foreign governments, international organisations, and the Vietnamese expatriate community have been coming in to flood victims in central Vietnam.

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam Park Suk Hwan, on behalf the RoK government, handed over 100,000 USD to the Vietnam Red Cross on Oct. 25.

Latter the day, Katherin Bergmann from the German Red Cross presented the organisation’s initial relief aid worth 10,000 EUR to help the flood victims overcome their difficulties.

The German Red Cross wants to join in a working group to assess the needs of flood victims in order to promptly make appropriate help, she said.

Also the same day, Pan Noi Ma Ni, Party Secretary and Governor of the Lao province of Bolykhamxay visited the flood-hit Ha Tinh province and donated 10,000 USD to the victims.

Earlier, Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam Saadi Salama made a field trip and handed over relief aid to flood victims in Ha Tinh province. The Palestinian embassy delegation presented 30 million VND, 87 gift packs, 500 T-shirts, five boxes of clothes, schooling aid, instant noodles, bottled water and plastic household appliances to the victims.

Besides, overseas Vietnamese in Thailand and Thai friends raised nearly 700,000 BAT (over 22,000 USD) to help the flood victims in Central Vietnam .

The Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese community in Mongolia on Oct. 24 raised 3,300 USD to help the victims./.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Rescuers find bus lost in central flood

Rescue workers attempt to recover a bus that gushing floodwaters swept into the La River, in Ha Tinh Province. As of press time, 20 passengers had been listed as dead or missing and 15 bodies have been recovered in and around the wreckage.

Rescuers on Wednesday (October 20) finally located a bus that had been swept away by floodwaters on Monday in Ha Tinh Province.

Thirty-eight people were onboard. Twenty have been listed as dead or missing. At around 11:55 a.m. on Thursday the bus was towed to a nearby shore. The body of a three year old child floated out of the ruined vehicle. Divers extracted nine other corpses from the tomblike vessel; five others were found washed upon the shore or floating in nearby waters. Police are now attempting to identify the corpses. Several families have already identified their dead and are preparing the bodies for funeral rites.

Divers located the vehicle on the bottom of the La River about one kilometer from where it plunged into the river. Early this month, the central region suffered the worst floods in 30 years. 54 people were killed, two were declared missing and 44 injured -not including those on the bus.

One of the survivors, 57-year-old Nguyen Thanh Thang, told the Tuoi Tre newspaper that the bus broke down near the Rong Bridge at around 4 a.m. in Ha Tinh Province’s Nghi Xuan District. The bus was en route from Dak Nong to Nam Dinh Province.

Thang said the passengers thought that the rushing water was simply passing under the bus before realizing they were in danger.

As the river swelled, flood waters swept down and threw the bus into the river.

CASUALTIES IN FLOOD

* 54 people were killed. This doesn’t include the 66 that died in the flood from September 29-October 5.

* Another 20 people were missing and 44 other injured.

* 319 communes in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces are still flooded. 35 communes in Nghe An are considered isolated.

* 266,659 homes were flooded

(Source: Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control, statistics as reported by 9 pm on October 20)

Eighteen people smashed windows and swam to safety. Those who couldn’t swim remained inside or clung to the bus, not knowing what to do. Thang, the survivor, guessed that the vehicle was completely submerged after about 20 minutes.

Passenger Tran Dang Luc, 47, recalled the horrifying sound of his son crying for help.

“He cried out ‘dad, I can’t swim’,” he told Vietnam News Agency. Luc tried to push his son and his niece out of the sinking bus but the terrified kids kept darting back into the vehicle, he said.

“I hope they can recover their bodies,” he said.

Forty-six-year-old Tran Thi Mung, another passenger, was rescued while struggling to swim ashore. Her 19-year-old son Tuyen remains missing.

“We clung to the bus for 15 to 20 minutes. My son told me, ‘Mom, I’m very cold,’” Mung told the Associated Press (AP). “We were together, and he was holding my hand.”

Tuyen can’t swim and Mung has never been in deep water. As they clung to the bus, she tried to prepare Tuyen for their ordeal, first telling him to remove his clothes and then to lie back and float. But he was too scared and there was no time. He decided to help others instead.

“He kept calling into the bus, urging the others to take the children outside and give them to the strong young men,” Mung was quoted by AP as saying. “He managed to take out one child that was saved.”

Minutes later, the bus began to sink and Mung lost her hold on Tuyen. She tried to keep her own head above water, she watched her son drown.

“I saw him slowly disappear in the water and he yelled, ‘Mom, where are you?’” she told AP, gasping as she wiped her swollen eyes.” The current was so strong, I could not reach him. I still remember that image vividly of him slowly sinking with his hand waving, trying to ask for help.”

Just then, the bus rolled onto its side and vanished into the murky water, with several screaming passengers still huddled inside.

Mung thrashed around in the swift waters for 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). She was saved, finally, by a fisherman – aged 19 like Tuyen.

RED CROSS APPEALS FOR $1 MLN

The International Red Cross appealed for more than US$1 million in aid for victims of heavy flooding in Vietnam, AFP reported on Monday (October 18).

“With large parts of central Vietnam still battling the after-effects of flooding, which has killed dozens of people and affected half a million residents, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is launching an emergency appeal for 1,034,754 Swiss francs ($1.08 million, 772,216 euros) to assist survivors,” it said in a statement.

Federation spokesman Paul Conneally said the numbers included those who have been displaced or suffered damages to their homes, land or agricultural property.

The Red Cross said fresh flooding since last week has added to damage caused by torrential rains earlier in the month, when rivers burst their banks and dams overflowed.

As of Thursday (October 20) Thanh Nien’s readers had donated a total of VND5.86 billion ($300,667) to help flood victims in the central region. The paper has been organizing trips to the area to deliver the relief funds.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Floods claim 76 lives in central Vietnam

Flooding caused by heavy rains has claimed 76 lives and left six missing, according to central provinces ’ latest statistics.

They include 15 passengers on bus 48K-5868 that was swept away by flood waters and found on Oct. 21, 24 people in Nghe An province, 20 in Ha Tinh province, 12 in Quang Binh province and five people in Thanh Hoa province.

The floods in the Ca River (Nghe An province) and rivers in Ha Tinh province have receded but 232 communes with 155,901 families remain under water.

All households in Ha Tinh province now have access to food and drinks.

Together with the assistance of the government, ministries, sectors and people nationwide, Quang Binh and Nghe An province are mobilising all resources to overcome the aftermath of the two floods. Total losses caused by the floods to Nghe An amounted to 1.7 trillion VND.

On Oct. 22 alone, organisations and individuals donated more than 11 billion VND and commodities.

To prevent environmental pollution and ensure people’s health after the floods, the pollution control department has instructed flood-affected people to strictly follow food hygiene safety.

The Vietnam Environment Protection Fund sent 1 billion VND to Quang Binh province, 500 million VND to Ha Tinh province, 400 million VND to Quang Tri province and 200 million VND to Thua Thien-Hue province to help them clean up the environment.

Meanwhile, low-cost airline Jetstar Pacific will offer free-of-charge transport of relief aid donated by social organisations and agencies to people in central flood-stricken provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh on flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh from Oct. 25 to Nov. 15.

The Australian Embassy in Hanoi said its government will donate 200,000 AUD (around 3.9 billion VND) to the Emergency Relief Aid Fund in response to the call of the Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to help Vietnam ’s central flood victims.

The Australian Government’s contribution will help the VRC continue with its emergency relief activities, including providing drinks, blankets, mosquito nets, food and other necessities for flood victims.

For the same purpose, the Government of the Republic of Korea has decided to provide a relief aid of 100,000 USD to the VRC./.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Bus tragedy claims 14 lives - six still missing

Rescue teams use a crane to lift the coach from the Lam River in Nghi Xuan District in central Ha Tinh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Pham Hue

HA TINH — Rescue teams yesterday managed to lift a coach with 10 dead passengers inside from a river in central Ha Tinh Province.

Another four dead were found in sections of the Lam River.

Six more people are missing and rescuers are still looking for them.

Earlier, another 17 passengers managed to escape or were rescued.

Raging floodwaters from the Lam River swept the coach from National Highway 1A on Monday. It was later found submerged 100 metres away.

Floodwaters in the province are forecast to stay high for at least the next three days.

The National Steering Committee for Storm and Flood Prevention said that flooding in the central region had left 66 people dead, 8 missing and 44 injured.

Nearly 320 communes are reported to have been submerged. More than 50 are still isolated and in need of food and clean water.

Statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that more than 47,000ha of rice and subsidiary crops have been submerged and thousands of tonnes of rice destroyed.

The floods also swept away about 74,000 cattle and fowls. Nghe An is the worst-hit area with more than 29,000ha of crops under water.

Yesterday, about 155,000 students from 297 schools in Vinh City, Nghe An Province, went back to school after one week off.

However, more than 50,000 students will probably not be able to resume schooling for another week because 145 schools and many roads remain submerged.

Nearly VND500 million (US$25,500) and tonnes of clothing, books and learning aids have been donated to help students disadvantaged by the floodwaters.

The National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre said the eye of Storm Megi is expected to be over China's Guangdong Province within the next 72 hours.

Wind gusts of between 49 to 88km per hour are predicted for the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei to verify and complete the necessary procedures to return 16 fishermen who were rescued by Brunei's ship on Tuesday to their homes in the central province of Quang Ngai. These fishermen had been in distress at sea while they were being on board of the QNg96455-TS ship.

Check on profiteering

The Ministry of Finance has asked its departments in flood-hit provincesto keep a check on prices.

Departments have also been told to stockpile rice, medicine and other food in areas prone to disasters.

They will also work with other government offices to repair damage caused by the disasters so that life can quickly return to normal.

The ministry has also asked that finance departments send reports on price and market developments.

This is aimed at firms attempting to unfairly profit from the disaster. — VNS

Relief aid accelerates as flood deaths hit 66

The dead toll from the severe floods caused by heavy rain in the central region reached 66 on Oct. 21, according to the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control.

Ha Tinh province recorded the highest number of deaths of 32, Nghe An, 20, Quang Binh, nine, and Thanh Hoa, five.

Forty-four others have been injured and only eight were still missing, said the committee.

In the afternoon of Oct. 21, rescuers recovered the bodies of 14 passengers drowned when their bus was swept away in flood waters in Ha Tinh province’s Nghi Xuan district.

The search was continuing for other passengers on the bus who may have floated away.

The Bao Viet insurance company in Ha Tinh, Nghe An and Dak Lak provinces initially paid 25 million VND in insurance payouts for each victim in the accident.

At present, 120 communes and 38,029 households in Nghe An province are inundated, with 35 communes marooned.

As many as 183 communes and 175,110 households in Ha Tinh province and 16 communes and 53,520 households in Quang Binh province are still submerged.

On Oct. 20, roads via Ha Tinh province were reopened to traffic while some portions of railway routes through Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces remained deeply inundated.

The same day, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and officials from the ministries of defence, public security, and agriculture and rural development made a fact-finding tour in Ha Tinh province.

The PM held a working session with authorities of the flood-hit localities to ensure necessary works were promptly carried out to overcome flood consequences and stabilize production and the local people’s life.

As many as 5,100kg of PUR, 6,000 kg of Cloramin B, 300,000 tablets of Aquatab, and 3,000 single use toilet bags were delivered to the flood-hit provinces to help process flooded water for daily use.

Transport workers have been deployed to clear land erosion sites on roads in these localities. They have also been posted at dangerous sites to guide traffic.

The Consular Department of the Foreign Ministry sent a telegraph to the Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei asking it to contact relevant agencies there to verify and process procedures for 16 fishermen aboard Boat QNg 96455-TS of Quang Ngai province, who were rescued by a Brunei rescue ship on Oct. 19, to return home soon./.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Prime Minister pledges food aid to flood victims

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung distributes relief aid to flood victims in Gia Pho Commune in Ha Tinh Province's Huong Khe District. — VNA/VNS Photo Duc Tam

A resident in Thuan Loc District in the central province of Ha Tinh grabs packs of noodles distributed to flood victims in the area. Every house in the district is now underwater. — VNA/VNS Photo Khuong Hue

HA TINH — The Government will ensure there is sufficient food for those affected by floods in the central provinces, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said while visiting Ha Tinh yesterday.

After helping to distribute relief aid, the Prime Minister met provincial Party Committee officials.

Dung extended his deepest sympathies to those affected by the floods, which have caused financial losses estimated at VND700 billion (US$36 million) in 22 communes.

The Party and State would do everything to help victims quickly overcome the consequences of the disaster and normalise their lives, he said.

Dung urged the provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Nghe An to continue their search and rescue operations. He urged officials to ensure flood victims had enough food and said they should mobilise all their resources to help repair houses and prevent the spread of disease.

If any province allowed its people in flooded areas to go hungry, its leaders would be held responsible to the Party and State, he said.

Ha Tinh has reported financial losses of nearly VND5.4 trillion ($270 million). Floods killed 21 people and injured 26 in the province. One person is still missing. More than 175,000 houses are still submerged.

The Prime Minister said VND660 billion had been allocated from the State budget to help flood victims. In addition, 11,000 tonnes of rice from the national reserve and five tonnes of instant noodles and dry provisions would be distributed to flood victims, he said.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue and the Ministry of National Defence have mobilised 19,000 soldiers, policemen and militiamen to help flood victims. In addition, 392 small boats, one helicopter and seven electric generators have been made available.

Yesterday, officials from the Office of the President and National Assembly deputies contributed money to flood victims.

Meanwhile, overseas Vietnamese in the US state of Texas have donated $50,000 to flood victims.

In addition, 11 international organisations have pledged emergency aid of $450,000.

According to a report by the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, the recent flood death toll were in 46. Of those, 16 deaths took place in Nghe An Province, 21 in Ha Tinh Province, eight in Quang Binh Province and one in Thanh Hoa Province.

There are still 21 people missing.

Monitoring losses

The Government on Tuesday decided to spend VND70 billion ($3.6 million) from the State budget to help flood victims in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Tri.

The Prime Minister also assigned the Finance Ministry to use VND25 billion ($1.2 million) from the State budget to subsidise flood victims and help them restore their daily lives and production.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will continue monitoring losses caused by the floods in the central provinces and regularly update reports to the Government.

Deputy head of Sai Gon Railway Station Nguyen Van Thanh said the station would transport all goods donated for flood victims in the central region for free, from now until the end of October.

Typhoon Megi, the sixth of this year, is moving between northwest and north and is forecast to land in Hong Kong on Saturday, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre.

The eye of the typhoon is expected to be at 18.9 degree north and 116.9 east at 1pm today, around 540km from the northeast of the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago with wind gusts of between 167-183 kph.

Flood donations

Donations for flood victims can be transferred to Viet Nam News via account numbers 001.1.37.2310047 for USD and 001.1.00.2310028 for Vietnamese dong at the Viet Nam Commercial Bank. All the money will be then transferred to the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and used to support flood victims.

It is forecast to be at 20.8 degree north and 116.9 degree east at 1pm on Saturday, around 490km from the Southeast of Hong Kong.

The typhoon would cause force 11 and 12 Beaufort Scale gusts in the eastern part of the East Sea and waves of between 12-14m, warned the centre.

The Hoang Sa archipelago would also be affected by rough seas and strong winds.

Central Quang Ngai Province's border guard post said all local vessels operating offshore from the Hoang Sa archipelago have safely entered storm shelters.

Fog has appeared in a number of Mekong Delta localities in recent days in early morning which has shortened visibility to 50-100m.

Deputy director of Tien Giang Province's Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre Vo Van Rong said different fog spells appeared in the region as a result of typhoon Megi and would last between 2-3 days.

Deputy chairman of the Ha Tinh Province's People's Committee Nguyen Nhat said rescue workers had found the coach that was swept away in floods on Monday.

The coach, which was carrying 37 passengers, was found 300 metres away from the National Highway 1A in the Lam River.

Rescue teams are still trying to recover the coach.

Air services resume

Vietnam Airlines on Tuesday resumed normal service to the flood-battered central region.

It had suspended 34 flights from and to Chu Lai Airport in Quang Nam Province and Vinh Airport in Nghe An Province on safety grounds.

The carrier said it was monitoring information about Typhoon Megi which is now over the East Sea with winds of up to 130 kmph. It is forecast to move north to Hong Kong.

The airline has urged passengers to check its website at www.vietnamairlines.com for the latest information or contact its booking offices around the country. — VNS

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Flood death toll rises to 46

Nguyen Dinh Duc, a resident of Ha Tinh Province, and all that is left for him after the floods

Photo: Tuoi Tre

Flood death toll has risen to 46, with a further 21 people still missing in central provinces as of Wednesday morning, according to the Central Committee for Flood Prevention and Control.

Ha Tinh Province has reported the worst toll with 21 people, followed by Nghe An with 16, Quang Binh with 8 and Thanh Hoa 1.

Ha Tinh also reported 21 missing people, including 19 passengers in a bus which was swept away by strong currents from a flooded river on Monday morning.

Eighteen people were injured in the floods, according to the committee.

The National Committee for Search and Rescue has assigned more than 19,000 rescuers to search for the missing people and rescue residents stuck in flood-hit areas.

Flood-affected localities have asked the government to supply 15,000 tons of rice for residents who are facing the risk of starvation after their houses and properties were destroyed by flooding.

Floods have continued causing chaos in the central region as residents struggle with outbreaks of disease and price rises for essential items.

The floods have blocked traffic on roads and destroyed hundreds of hectares of subsidiary crops in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, resulting in commodity price increases of 200 to 500 percent.

Flood death toll rises to 46