The southernmost Ca Mau Province People’s Committee has ordered local authorities to protect people and property from natural disasters by inspecting dykes and solving erosion and flooding incidents as soon as possible.

Local agencies have also been told to raise public awareness about erosion and relocate households in erosion-prone areas to safe areas.

The province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will work with coastal districts to review the status of eroded areas and erosion-prone areas.      

This year in the province, two have died, three were injured, and 18 were missing following rainstorms, whirlwinds, strong sea waves and high tides. Thirteen fishing boats also sank.  

Whirlwinds this year flattened 15 houses and blew the roofs off of 15 houses and one school.

In addition, erosion has occurred along 2km of riverbanks and affected 75 houses.

Natural disasters have caused property damage worth more than 5.6 billion VND (246,000 USD) this year, according to the province’s steering committee for flood and storm control and prevention, natural disaster mitigation, search and rescue. 

On June 18, three houses fell into the river after a serious erosion case in Cai Nuoc District’s Tran Thoi Commune.   

On the same day, erosion 25 metres long and three metres wide occurred along an embankment in Ngoc Hien District’s Dat Mui Commune.

In U Minh District, local authorities have set up plans to relocate 720 households along dykes where the erosion occurs.

Ngo Thanh Dien, deputy head of the U Minh District Natural Disaster Control and Prevention, Search and Rescue Board, said nearly 40 percent of the district’s 755 fishing boats are small and used for near-shore fishing.

Most of the small boats are not equipped with communication facilities, so rescue efforts can be difficult.

In addition, public awareness about flood/storm control and prevention is still limited, he said.

The lack of facilities for prevention and control of natural disasters, research and rescue has also contributed to the problem. – VNA