VietNamNet Bridge - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on October 19 called on the international community to urgently assist flood victims in central Vietnam.

Domestic and international aid for flood victims

The call aims to raise $1 million for 28,500 flood-hit families, focusing on: food, safe water, fertilizers, seed rice and psychological assistance.

Red Cross staff and volunteers in Vietnam have made great efforts to rescue victims and deliver emergency aid to people in the hardest hit areas in Quang Binh and Ha Tinh provinces.

The Spanish Red Cross has joined with other international organisations, including OXFAM, CARE, and PACCOM in Ha Tinh to provide urgent aid in line with local people’s needs.

The Vietnam Red Cross also took part in another delegation in Quang Binh to discover what local people need immediately.

Also on October 19, the Vietnam Red Cross received $50,000 from the Chinese counterpart. The Spanish Red Cross pledged to provide Eur20,000 and the American Red Cross with $25,000. Earlier, the German Red Cross donated Eur10,000.

The Vietnam Red Cross Association President, Tran Ngoc Tang, said the association has sent supplies to 12,000 victim families, which, however, fell far behind the demand of people in flooded areas.

The association on October 18 sent the third batch of urgent aid worth over VND2.1 billion (roughly US$107,000) in cash and kind to typhoon Megi victims in the three central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. The aid included VND350 million in cash, 3,000 barrels of water-purifying pills, 50 tents and 3,600 barrels of daily necessities.

The Prime Minister has signed decisions to aid disaster victims in the central region.

One of the decisions allowed the allocation of VND70 billion from the 2010 Central Hedge Fund and free supply of 3,000 tonnes of rice for flood victims in the three central provinces .

The Ministry of Finance has been assigned to allocate VND20 billion to buy seedlings, domestic animals and aquatic breeds to help recover production in flood areas.

In addition, the Prime Minister has entrusted the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to supply free 2,800 tonnes of rice seedlings, 200 tonnes of maize seedlings and 110 tonnes of vegetable seedlings for 15 provinces hit by the recent natural disasters, including the three central provinces hit by typhoon Megi.

The Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese Community Federation in Laos have also raised over VND170 million for their flood-hit patriots.

The Vietnamese in Khammuon province have donated VND70 million to help flood victims in the central region.

The Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa has donated 5,000 Rand (roughly US$700) for flood victims in Quang Binh province.

The Ministry of Defense has sent a helicopter from Gia Lam airport in Hanoi to Vinh City in Nghe An Province and mobilized hundreds of canoes, boats and other vehicles to facilitate emergency aid in flood-hit provinces.

The Ministries of Health, and Agriculture and Rural Development continue to provide medicine and lifejackets to help people cope with the floods.

Update on flood situation

The latest report from the National Committee for Flood Prevention and Control showed that the record flooding in the central region had killed 46 people, left 21 missing and injured three.

Eighteen passengers on a coach that was swept away on Monday from a section of National Highway 1A in Ha Tinh Province have been saved but 19 still remain missing.

Floods have submerged nearly 200,000 houses and 8,000ha of rice in the region.

Flash floods have continued to cause chaos in the central region as residents struggle with outbreaks of disease and increased costs for essential items.

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

The National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Center issued a flood and landslide warning to residents in the central provinces.

Water in many rivers has risen to dangerous levels, including the Ca River in Nghe An Province and the Ngan Sau River in Ha Tinh Province.

Prolonged heavy rains in recent days caused a severe landslide in Thua Thien-Hue Province. Nearly 200m of the Pe Ke mountain pass in A Luoi District was covered with 20,000sq.m of land and soil, blocking traffic along a section of the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

A flood-triggered landslide is also threatening nearly 300 households with more than 1,000 residents along O Loan River in Phong Thu Commune. The depth of the landslide could reach 15-20m.

Center director Bui Minh Tang said total rainfall in some areas measured nearly 1,000mm in three days.

"Heavy rains are forecast to continue in these provinces, particularly Nghe An and Thanh Hoa," he said.

In the meantime, typhoon Megi made a landfall in the East Sea on October 19, with wind gusts reaching 150-183 kph.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh on September 19 sent a message of condolence to authorities and the families of victims in flood-hit provinces from Nghe An to Thua Thien-Hue.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Monday also sent urgent messages to ministries, municipal and provincial People's Committees in flood stricken areas, the National Committee for Search and Rescue, the National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Center and the press.

He assigned each unit with a concrete mission and responsibility to cope with Typhoon Megi and overcome the aftermath of the flooding.

Central coastal provinces from Quang Binh to Khanh Hoa have told fishermen to find safe shelters as powerful Typhoon Megi makes its way up Viet Nam's coast.

Currently, about 19,104 vessels with more than 73,000 fishermen operate off the coast of the provinces. Local authorities have managed to inform 37 vessels from Da Nang City, 43 from Quang Nam, 463 from Quang Ngai, over 8,096 from Binh Dinh, 117 from Phu Yen and nearly 1,900 from Khanh Hoa about the speed and direction of the storm and have asked them to promptly return to the mainland. Eight vessels are reported to be caught in the storm-affected area and one of them with a crew of 16 has been badly damaged.

Most fishing vessels from Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue are reported to be safe but more than 107 vessels with 871 fishermen on board have yet to be contacted.

Border soldiers and naval forces in Da Nang City let off flares in high-risk areas and 200 soldiers, 22 boats and canoes, seven rescue vessels and other vehicles were mobilised to support local people if necessary.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said that Typhoon Megi would move north-northwest at a speed of 10 kilometres per hour.

In the next 24 to 72 hours, the storm is expected to move to 19.9 degrees north latitude and 113.3 degrees east longitude, about 370km northwest of the Hoang Sa (Paracels) islands.

Strong waves between 12m and 14m high, gusty winds and seriously rough seas are forecast for the next few days.

Viet Nam Airlines has scheduled four additional flights on its HCM City-Vinh City route for passengers whose flights were cancelled on Monday.

Telecommunication companies, including VNPT Group's MobiFone and VinaFone have assured the continued operation of their networks to relevant authorities to help them manage the situation.

Director of Viettel Tao Duc Thang said his company had fixed around 200 submerged base transceiver stations in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces with two more left to repair before operations could resume.

Brunei marines rescue 16 Vietnamese fishermen

The entire 16-strong crew of a sunken fishing boat was rescued by Brunei marines off the Hoang Sa archipelago at 17h on October 19, the rescue force reported.

The Hoa Hai boat, captained by Nguyen Ngoc Sinh, was broken by typhoon Megi and lost contact with land.

The news was confirmed by Ly Son island authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai later the same day, who said Captain Sinh had telephoned his family about his and crew members’ survival. However, information on the whereabouts of the rescued fishermen has not yet been released.

The Hoa Hai boat was just one of eight fishing boats stranded in dangerous waters.

The provincial border guards command said about 411 fishing boats are still offshore and they are trying to locate and contact these fishing boats.

Since typhoon Megi hit the central region on October 13, the death toll has reached 36.

Almost 200,000 homes have been inundated, over 8,000 ha of rice fields, 38,000 ha of crops and almost 40,000 tonnes of food in stores have been either flooded or swept away.

PV