Vietnam PM Visits Flood-hit Mekong Delta amid Rising Death Toll

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung Oct 12 paid a visit to flood-hit Mekong Delta provinces where have recorded 35 deaths, 60,000 inundated houses and 6,000ha of destroyed rice field. The PM accompanied by representatives of government agencies inspected the effects of the water on flood-proof residential clusters and heavily-hit villages in An Giang province. The PM also called for more efforts in creating sustainable living styles that can deal with floods and adverse weather, applauding efforts of local authorities to lower the number of casualties and the amount of rice paddies lost. He asked local authorities from Long An, Dong Thap and An Giang provinces to try to minimize the impacts of the big floods on people, urging to make long-term efforts to prevent floods to mitigate the human losses and other property damage. He also suggested provinces reinforce the dyke system to protect rice fields and prepare seedlings for resuming production. The local authorities in turn asked the government to provide additional budget spending for them to deal with flood aftermath. The visit triggered the public concerns over the policy of the government on the prevention of natural disasters in such vulnerable areas where are hit by severe floods annually. The National Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control said another storm, Banyan, heading closer to the East Sea, will cause rough seas in the northern and eastern parts of the East Sea next days. (Vietnam News Oct 13 p1, vnexpress.net Oct 13, Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi Oct 13 p2)